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LOS ANGELES – Coach Ryan Day will need no introduction to the Rose Bowl when his No. 8-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes play the No. 1-seeded Oregon Ducks Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff.
“When you’re at the Rose Bowl, you’re like on sensory overload,” Day said Tuesday during a news conference. “The grass is greener, the sky is bluer, the sun is more yellow. It’s a beautiful setting.”
In his third trip to the game in Pasadena, however, there will be something new in the landscape: a cloud of scrutiny hovering over Day.
It’s largely the result of Ohio State losing to archrival Michigan for the fourth year in a row. But also general disappointment in the high-priced team, with Day bringing in players who received about $20 million this year in NIL deals and from the school’s collective while going 11-2.
A victory over Oregon (13-0) would earn Day and his team redemption from their 32-31 regular-season loss at Oregon on Oct. 12. And Ohio State’s sixth-year head coach said he feels “very similar’’ to how he did in the week leading up to a first-round matchup with No. 9-seed Tennessee, when the heat was on before the Buckeyes dismantled the Volunteers, 42-17.
“Hungry, focused,” Day, 45, said of his mindset. “Every opportunity you get on the field is an opportunity to prove people right and prove people wrong. That’s just the approach of our team.’’
Ohio State coach Ryan Day will face Oregon for the second time this season when they meet in the Rose Bowl.
The domain “FireRyanDay.com” was available as of Tuesday. Though his ouster anytime soon is unlikely, this is a different scenario than his first two trips to the Rose Bowl.
The first game was in 2019, when Day was Ohio State’s offensive coordinator and about to be promoted to head coach with Urban Meyer set to retire amid…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/ohio-states-ryan-day-faces-120400872.html
Author : USA TODAY Sports
Publish date : 2025-01-01 12:04:00
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