Ohio State's Ryan Day faces scrutiny but has shot at redemption vs. Oregon in Rose Bowl

LOS ANGELES – Coach Ryan Day will need no introduction to the Rose Bowl when his No. 8-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes play the No. 1-seeded Oregon Ducks Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff.

“When you're at the Rose Bowl, you're like on sensory overload," Day said Tuesday during a news conference. “The grass is greener, the sky is bluer, the sun is more yellow. It's a beautiful setting."

In his third trip to the game in Pasadena, however, there will be something new in the landscape: a cloud of scrutiny hovering over Day.

It’s largely the result of Ohio State losing to archrival Michigan for the fourth year in a row. But also general disappointment in the high-priced team, with Day bringing in players who received about $20 million this year in NIL deals and from the school’s collective while going 11-2.

A victory over Oregon (13-0) would earn Day and his team redemption from their 32-31 regular-season loss at Oregon on Oct. 12. And Ohio State’s sixth-year head coach said he feels “very similar’’ to how he did in the week leading up to a first-round matchup with No. 9-seed Tennessee, when the heat was on before the Buckeyes dismantled the Volunteers, 42-17.

“Hungry, focused," Day, 45, said of his mindset. “Every opportunity you get on the field is an opportunity to prove people right and prove people wrong. That's just the approach of our team.’’

The domain "FireRyanDay.com" was available as of Tuesday. Though his ouster anytime soon is unlikely, this is a different scenario than his first two trips to the Rose Bowl.

The first game was in 2019, when Day was Ohio State’s offensive coordinator and about to be promoted to head coach with Urban Meyer set to retire amid controversy. The second came in 2022, when Day’s team beat Utah in a 48-45 shootout.

Now here he is again.

“We've wanted to get into this position all season,’’ Day said. “You don't know what twists and turns are going to come, but here we are with another opportunity to play Oregon."

Ohio State playing 'fast' and 'violent'

Injuries have robbed Ohio State of two stalwarts on its offensive line, along with a replacement starter on the line and a valuable backup running back.

Day sounds unconcerned.

“I feel like, right now, we're playing as fast and as violent as we've played all season,’’ Day said.

The critical losses: Seth McLaughlin, who won the Rimington Trophy awarded to the top center in college football before he suffered a season-ending injury in practice Nov. 19, and Josh Simmons, the starting left tackle who suffered a season-ending injury against Oregon.

But Ohio State is battled-tested and has built depth by design, according to Day.

“When we put the roster together, we knew this was going to be the case, that we had to be strong and powerful late in the season and continue to build as the season has gone on," he said.

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning described a similar approach as the teams prepare for their 14th game of the season.

“I think, for us, it's something you prepare for throughout the summer, knowing what the season could look like and kind of having a 365-day plan of how do you want to prep for these moments,’’ Lanning said.

Ohio State, Oregon focused on big plays

Given that the outcome of their regular-season game came down to a single point, it’s hard to find one thing responsible for Oregon having prevailed against Ohio State early in the season.

But in the rematch, big plays won’t go overlooked. Oregon had eight plays of 25 yards or more when the teams met in October.

For that, Day lauded Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein.

“I thought Coach Stein and everybody on their staff did a great job of scheming up some plays to attack us and then did a great job of executing,’’ Day said. “I thought the route-running and throwing and catching and protection, it all goes in together, and they did a great job in doing that and creating plays. And that's a huge factor in winning and losing games. And coming out of that game, we certainly recognized that.

“That was no secret."

Ohio State must get lined up on defense, communicate and understand what’s going on to combat the big plays, according to Day.

“Same on the other side of the ball," Lanning said of his offense. “There were a lot of lead changes and score changes in the game last time. There were explosive plays on both sides."

Transfer QBs shine at Oregon, Ohio State

Few teams have benefited more from the transfer portal this season than Oregon and Ohio State. It’s where both found their starting quarterbacks.

Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel and Ohio State’s Will Howard arguably were the best in the Big Ten.

Gabriel, who finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting this season, played at Central Florida and Oklahoma before joining the Ducks. He has thrown for 3,558 yards and 28 touchdowns with six interceptions while completing 73.2 percent (297-for-406) of his passes.

Howard, who played three years at Kansas State before transferring to Ohio State, has thrown for 3,171 yards and 29 touchdowns with nine interceptions while completing 73.2 percent (251-for-343) of his passes.

“Dillon has done an unbelievable job for us, just like Will has done for them," Lanning said. “You talk about two great quarterbacks getting to battle it out on the field tomorrow, that's obviously really exciting."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rose Bowl redemption? Ohio State's Ryan Day has another shot vs Oregon