Ryan Day: Ohio State turned corner, played 'fast and violent'

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day commented on the adjustments his team made during halftime and playing “fast and violent” to win the Rose Bowl. The Buckeyes beat Utah 48-45 in a thrilling Rose Bowl matchup after trailing by 14 at halftime.

Star young receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba had a record-setting game in the win, setting a new college football bowl record for receiving yards with 347.

Ohio State played “fast and violent” in second half

“I thought in the second half they made up their mind on defense, that they were going to play different. It happened in the locker room. I heard it, and I got out of the way. Then they played with a different toughness, and we talked about playing fast and violent,” said Ohio State coach Ryan Day on why their defense looked better after halftime.

“I thought they played that way in the second half. When you make up your mind you’re going to do something like that, then you can impose your will. I felt like that’s what happened.

“It’s a team game. You have to believe the guy next to you is going to do their job. If you do your job and you count on 11 guys to do that, I think we did that in the second half. I thought Tommy [Eichenberg] played really well. He had a chip on his shoulder. I thought Cade Stover stepping in at linebacker, he had a chip on his shoulder.

“Then the D-line at one point really imposed their will. If we can start becoming more consistent in that area and having that mentality and building into the off-season here, we have a chance to have a really good defense next year. But those are the things that we really have to hammer home over the next few months and into the spring ball and preseason.”

Multiple records set by Smith-Njigba

By the end of the game, Smith-Njigba had 15 receptions and 347 yards along with three touchdowns.

Smith-Njigba shattered the previous Ohio State bowl receiving record set by Cris Carter. Carter had 172 yards in the 1985 Rose Bowl. After passing Carter’s record, Smith-Njigba pushed past the Rose Bowl receiving record and now holds the record for the most yards receiving in the storied Rose Bowl’s history.

Smith-Njigba also broke another trio of Ohio State team records during the game, surpassing David Boston’s 1998 season total of 1,435 yards. He also surpassed Terry Glenn’s individual game record of 253 yards receiving that he set in 1995. With 95 catches total on the season after Saturday night, he also surpassed the record set by Parris Campbell in 2018 who had the Ohio State record of 90 catches in a single season.

Earlier in the season, the young star broke a team record for single-game receptions with `15 catches against Nebraska which he tied again during the Rose Bowl.