Ryan Day hints at expectation to face Texas again in College Football Playoff

Ryan Day hinted at playing Texas again later this season in the College Football Playoff. Ohio State handled the Longhorns defensively, winning 14-7 in Columbus Saturday.

But when asked about improving the run game as the season progresses, Day tipped his cap to the Texas defense. When doing so, he alluded to Texas making another run in the CFP.

Should they cross paths again, like they did in last year’s semifinals, the game could look totally different months later. But for now, Ohio State now has a strong argument to be the No. 1 team going into Week 2.

“You know, we’ll have to look at the film and see. I mean, that’s a stout front, there’s a lot of guys in there,” Day said. “And, yeah, when we play them again, I don’t think it’ll look the same way, but you know, leaning on some of our tight ends in there, there were some good runs in there. I gotta really look hard now at the film and see, you know, where things didn’t go perfect. 

“We were pretty tied in on both edges there. And so, you know, those are downhill runs we’re looking to really get physical and push guys around. But I do think that we were getting movement out there. It was not a high scoring game. I think we had four possessions in the first half. When it’s time to spread everybody out and air it out, we’ll do that and create more space. But this is a team that has great team speed, great team speed, and so we took that into consideration, putting the game plan together. It certainly wasn’t perfect, but it’s a start.”

While the offense certainly had its challenges against the Texas front, the Buckeyes’ defense was stout all game long. It forced Arch Manning into mistakes and misfires and limited the Longhorns to just seven points.

Day credited new defensive coordinator Matt Patricia for the game plan afterwards. Patricia took over for Jim Knowles, who left for Penn State this offseason.

“Well, he did a great job,” Day said of Patricia to FOX’s Jenny Taft postgame. “Our staff did a great job. I thought the play coming in was excellent. They kept fighting. I can’t say enough about these guys for the first game coming out and playing like this. It’s just a start. 

“We got a lot to improve on. But yeah, defense really did a great job all night. A lot of respect for Arch and for Sark and they’re gonna have a great season. But man, what a great win for us to start off with such a young group.”