Ryan Day knew new Ohio State defensive coordinator Matt Patricia would have his hands full in Saturday’s season-opener against preseason Heisman Trophy favorite Arch Manning, the former No. 1 overall recruit in the 2023 cycle. But in reality, the ex-NFL coordinator and former head coach was the one that kept Texas’ superstar quarterback on his […]
Ryan Day knew new Ohio State defensive coordinator Matt Patricia would have his hands full in Saturday’s season-opener against preseason Heisman Trophy favorite Arch Manning, the former No. 1 overall recruit in the 2023 cycle. But in reality, the ex-NFL coordinator and former head coach was the one that kept Texas’ superstar quarterback on his heels in the Buckeyes’ 14-7 win Saturday in Columbus.
Manning looked out of sorts for much of game, and struggled in his first start as the Longhorns’ QB1 — and just third career start overall — combining for just 208 yards of total offense in the loss, including completing 17-of-30 passes for 170 yards and a 1-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio Saturday. Despite those issues, Day has no doubt the young Manning scion will bounce back and ultimately live up to the overwhelming preseason hype hoisted upon the 21-year-old QB.
“No, he’s going to be a great player and is a great player. We just felt like in Week 1, we didn’t want to beat ourselves, so we took that into consideration in everything that we did. … It’s the same thing on defense,” Day said postgame Saturday. “And he’s going to be a great quarterback and is a tremendous talent. But anybody you play in that first week, you just don’t want to beat yourself, and then you go from there. He made some really good throws there in the fourth quarter, and you could you can see the talent, but give our defense credit.”
Especially the loaded Ohio State secondary, which was led by junior safety Caleb Downs and senior cornerbacks Davison Igbinosun and Lorenzo Styles Jr. Igbinoson posted a team-high 10 tackles Saturday against Texas, followed by nine tackles from junior linebacker Arvell Reese, who also sacked Manning in the game, and junior corner Jermain Matthews Jr., who accounted for Manning’s one interception.
Manning and the top-ranked Longhorns will look to bounce back at home next Saturday against San Jose State (12 noon ET, ABC), while the Buckeyes host Grambling at 3:30 pm ET on the Big Ten Network.
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.”
— On3’s Nick Kosko contributed to this report.
Category: General Sports
