No Land For Old QBs....Will THE Scarlet & Gray Bounce Byke? It's Up in the Air I'm just Sayin: 2024 Ohio State Buckeyes Thread

[OSUBaneBrowns]

O-H

I-O!!

 

[Trav]

Interesting tidbits about how instead of Day taking a step byke and letting Chip have full reign, he's actually dialed it up as far as puttin' his fingerprints on the passing game attack.

The first question posed to Ohio State head coach Ryan Day during a pre-Cotton Bowl news conference on Jan. 3, two days after his team throttled top-seeded Oregon and two weeks after it shellacked Tennessee to open the College Football Playoff, probed the most high-profile offseason change to the program's operation.

Nearly a year had passed since Day agonized over the decision to hire an experienced offensive coordinator and cede play-calling duties for the first time since joining the Buckeyes prior to the 2017 campaign, when Urban Meyer was still running the show. It was a choice that Day, who is regarded as one of the keenest offensive minds in the sport, enacted despite obvious pangs of reluctance. He'd built his reputation as a shrewd designer of game plans, the kind of coach who loved matching wits with the opposition on Saturday afternoons. But Day understood that the rapid modernization of college football made it harder than ever for the head coach to invest so much time in the X's and O's during the actual season. There were always more recruiting pitches to be made, fundraising events to attend and roster-management discussions to be had — all in addition to overseeing the entire coaching staff and every football-playing aspect of the team. Day knew his role needed to change after failing to reach the College Football Playoff in 2023, the same year that saw rival Michigan secure both a third consecutive Big Ten Championship trophy and the national title.

By mid-January, approximately two weeks after a humbling loss to Missouri in last year's Cotton Bowl, Day plucked former Penn State and Houston Texans head coach Bill O'Brien from the rubble of the New England Patriots, where the Bill Belichick era had drawn to a close. The marriage lasted less than a month before O'Brien was named head coach at Boston College, at which point Day doubled down by luring Chip Kelly, his longtime friend and former boss, away from some difficult circumstances at UCLA, a resource-challenged school about to join Ohio State in the Big Ten. Kelly assumed control of the offense so that Day could widen the lens through which he oversees the program. And that's why Day's response to the question about his CEO-style role ahead of Friday's date with Texas was so fascinating.

"Well," Day said on Zoom, "I actually think this time of year in the playoffs, I've had more time to actually be part of the football. During the season, a little less. But now that we've been in the playoffs, I've been able to step aside, really, in terms of some of those other things, and really get more involved with the football, which has been great."

An uptick in Day's involvement with the Buckeyes' game planning has coincided with an offensive eruption during the College Football Playoff, especially when juxtaposed with the team's meager 10-point showing in a stunning home loss to Michigan on Nov. 30. Ohio State exploded for first-half leads of 21-0 over Tennessee and 34-0 over Oregon while averaging 486.5 yards of total offense and reaching the end zone once every 11.6 plays, including five touchdowns of 37 yards or longer. Those two victories marked the first time Day's team exceeded 40 points in consecutive games against Power 4 opponents since mid-November 2022, with quarterback Will Howard becoming the program's first signal-caller to surpass 300 passing yards in back-to-back outings since C.J. Stroud did so against Michigan in the regular-season finale and Georgia in the national semifinals that same year.
For many Ohio State fans, the 42-41 loss to eventual national champion Georgia in the Peach Bowl offered a window into Day's aerially inclined offense at its peak. That night, the Buckeyes tore through a star-studded defense that had only surrendered more than 22 points in a game once all season and would produce three first-round picks in the 2023 NFL Draft. They racked up 467 yards of total offense against the Bulldogs, including 348 yards and four scores through the air from Stroud, while building leads of 21-7, 38-24 and 41-35 before ultimately succumbing in the final minute. Four wide receivers caught passes of at least 25 yards, including stars Emeka Egbuka (eight catches, 112 yards, 1 TD) and Marvin Harrison Jr. (five catches, 106 yards, 2 TDs), who left the game with a concussion and did not return.

That the Buckeyes employed similar levels of verticality in recent wins over Tennessee and Oregon highlights an area where Day's influence is almost certainly at play, particularly when compared to data from the first 12 games in which Kelly, who is known more for his expertise and creativity in the running game, was exerting greater control. Only 11.1% of Howard's passes traveled at least 20 yards downfield during the regular season, according to Pro Football Focus, and he completed 21 of 38 attempts (55.3%) for 708 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions. His percentage of deep throws increased to 17.2% against Tennessee and 15.4% against Oregon with combined production of 271 yards and three touchdowns on 8-for-9 passing, with the lone incompletion resulting in an interception by the Volunteers when Ohio State already led by three scores.

"[Day] has definitely been more involved in the game-planning process," Howard said in a news conference over the weekend. Obviously, you take out some of the BS that he has to deal with [related to] the changing nature of college football [where] he's more of a general manager in the offseason, and even in the early season, than being a head coach. But I feel like now with the playoffs and having 10 days between each game, we're really able to refine our game plan, get in there and really find what we like, and I think it's been really positive for us these last two weeks. I'm excited to see what we draw up this week."

For the rest:

Ryan Day's increased role in offensive game plan has led to potent passing attack | FOX Sports

FOX Sports' Michael Cohen explains how Ryan Day's increased role in Ohio State's offensive game plan has led to a more explosive passing attack through two College Football Playoff games.

www.foxsports.com

 

[MustafaSTL]

Interesting tidbits about how instead of Day taking a step byke and letting Chip have full reign, he's actually dialed it up as far as puttin' his fingerprints on the passing game attack.







For the rest:

Ryan Day's increased role in offensive game plan has led to potent passing attack | FOX Sports

FOX Sports' Michael Cohen explains how Ryan Day's increased role in Ohio State's offensive game plan has led to a more explosive passing attack through two College Football Playoff games.

www.foxsports.com

Buckeyes by 20

 

[MustafaSTL]

Time to start pregaming.

 

[Trav]

1 more half...

Clean up them penalties & come out with the foot on neck mentality to go up 21-7.

Gotta get 4 involved somehow 2nd half.

 

[smitty22]

1 more half...

Clean up them penalties & come out with the foot on neck mentality to go up 21-7.

Gotta get 4 involved somehow 2nd half.

Just gotta keep attacking the zone with Tate and Mekka. Goat gonna get his eventually. Gotta call run plays for Q that get him going downhill. Those delay to him aren’t effective. Come out and get 7 after half and that might be enough.

 

[Trav]

Just gotta keep attacking the zone with Tate and Mekka. Goat gonna get his eventually. Gotta call run plays for Q that get him going downhill. Those delay to him aren’t effective. Come out and get 7 after half and that might be enough.

Not effective at all. Shyt, if anything, they keep bracketing + playin' 2 high all night, those RB passes/screens like we just saw are live as hell. Make their asses pay for it. Henderson & Q can gash them with that shyt.

 

[Selena]

I'm so disgusted with this team right now it's making me nauseous as hell brehs

 

[Trav]

I'm so disgusted with this team right now it's making me nauseous as hell brehs

You know who is back to coaching with his heart/chest in his ass again...

Bonehead shyt all night, stupid penalties still after the half, dumbass playcalling, people out of position etc. the min he get in a close game, he start malfunctioning.

Better get his shyt together for the 4th.

 

[Trav]

I'm not even sure what the gameplan is anymore from Day/Chip

 

[smitty22]

Big drive

 

[Trav]

Big drive

Need the D to give us just, like, one more and then maybe we can put another long drive together to put this away

 

[Trav]

Need the D to give us just, like, one more and then maybe we can put another long drive together to put this away

Well....nvm.

 

[Selena]

Defense on some pure bullshyt

 

[Selena]

Defense on some pure bullshyt

I fukkING APOLOGIZE!!!!! SAWYERRRRRRRR!!!!!