Beyond the Box Score: How much do you worry about Ryan Day coaching in close games?

Throughout this season, Ryan Day and Ohio State have beaten almost every opponent they faced in the regular season into submission, with systematic domination on both sides of the ball. When the Buckeyes beat Michigan in Ann Arbor, their winning streak hit 16 games, going back to their national championship run last year.

In the Big Ten Championship, though, Ohio State didn’t score in the second half in a 13-10 loss to the Indiana Hoosiers (13-10. Sound familiar?). It brings up a talking point about Day that I honestly thought we were beyond, but it’s worth revisiting again ahead of the College Football Playoff.

It seemed like the Buckeyes’ offense operated with a more conservative approach in the Big Ten Championship. They called a quarterback sneak on fourth-and-1 inside the 10-yard line, then opted to kick a 27-yard field goal on another fourth-and-1 late in the fourth quarter.

Both decisions backfired, and Ohio State went scoreless on both possessions.

Day has won a lot of games in his first seven seasons as the Buckeyes’ head coach, but the Big Ten Championship brought up the question of whether he tenses up in close games.

To be fair, the Buckeyes were in some tight situations in the Playoff last year and in some games this year.

Against Texas in the Semifinals, Day played aggressively late in the first half, and the result was a 75-yard catch-and-run touchdown by TreVeyon Henderson. In the National Championship against Notre Dame, Day coached aggressively with the Buckeyes clinging to an eight-point lead with just over two minutes to play. Will Howard found Jeremiah Smith on the deep ball to seal the National Championship for the Buckeyes.

That’s the aggressiveness we want to see from Ohio State and Ryan Day. It would have been nice to see that against Indiana. Maybe Day thought the Buckeyes’ offensive line and running game could get those hard-earned yards, or that Jayden Fielding could make a 27-yard field goal.

That’s fine, but it’s better to put the game in the hands of your best players. Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate are a generational great receiving tandem. Leave the game to be decided in their hands.

The Buckeyes haven’t faced a lot of close games this season. They went conservatively against Texas, and it worked because of their great defense. They broke open the game against Washington late in the first half and third quarter.

Against Penn State, Day unleashed Julian Sayin and the Buckeyes’ receivers early in the second half, turning a three-point game at halftime into a rout. In Ann Arbor, the Buckeyes turned to Sayin, unleashing deep balls to Smith and Tate to put the game on ice, before the running game ran out the clock in the fourth quarter.

Still, there is a worry that Ohio State may abandon what they do best in close games in the Playoff. I get it, they want to be a physically imposing team. But the strength of this team is its passing game, featuring a generational receiving tandem.

The key to this Playoff run is to let your best players cook. Don’t overthink it. If Day does that, the Buckeyes could very well repeat as national champions. But after what we saw in the Big Ten Championship, it’s fair to wonder if we have to worry about the coaches tensing up in close games.

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