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jake trotter
Arlington, Texas — Ohio State Coach Ryan Day took responsibility for “not preparing players to play” on Wednesday night 24-14 damage to miamiThat eliminated the defending national champions from the College Football Playoff in the quarterfinals.
“We worked really hard … to come out of the gate and win the first quarter, win the first half and be ready to go,” Day said. “I thought we had an excellent plan. But at the end of the day, we couldn’t execute it. It starts with me.”
The Hurricanes dominated the trenches on both sides of the ball in their debut in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, finishing with 153 rushing yards offensively and five sacks on defense.
Meanwhile, the Buckeyes produced only one first down in the first quarter and had negative rushing yards through their first three possessions.
Ohio State responded out of halftime with touchdowns on its first two drives, including quarterback julian signKi’s 14-yard touchdown strike Jeremiah Smith On fourth-and-2 early in the fourth quarter.
After a quick stop, the Buckeyes got the ball back with an opportunity to tie the score or take the lead. But a holding call derailed the drive and Ohio State was forced to punt.
Miami ran out the clock, then punched in the deciding touchdown with just 55 seconds remaining.
“We got into a rhythm,” Day said. “But when you start out like we did, you run the risk of having to be really perfect in the second half to win the game.”
The Hurricanes took their first lead in the second quarter with a 13-play, 83-yard touchdown drive that took over 8 minutes – the longest drive the Ohio State defense had surrendered all season.
Then, on the Buckeyes’ upcoming drive, Miami’s keyonte scott A wide receiver intercepted a screen pass attempt in progress and ran 72 yards for a touchdown, giving Ohio State its largest loss since the 2022 season.
“At that point, you have to fight it out yourself,” Day said. “And we weren’t able to do that.”
After an undefeated regular season, Ohio State ended the year with two consecutive losses, including a 13–10 loss to Indiana in the Big Ten Championship Game.
The Buckeyes still earned a playoff bye. But their loss on Wednesday dropped the teams to 0-5 with a first-round bye in the 12-team playoff era.
“We spent an inordinate amount of time planning to get everyone ready to play in the first half,” Day said. “We have to figure out why that was and learn from it moving forward.”
