COLUMBUS — With the invading Tennessee fans loud and ready to try to take over Ohio Stadium with what looked like 30,000-plus fans, Ryan Day aggressively quieted the opposing fans — and the critics — in a dominant 42-17 win.
Before the game as more and more orange jackets, toboggans and jerseys came streaming into the stadium, it felt like a referendum on Day. Seemingly capitalizing on Ohio State fan apathy following a devastating home loss to Michigan, Tennessee fans gobbled up tickets all over the stadium and proclaimed it “Neyland North” before the game.
And, yet, at the end of the third quarter after Ohio State went up 35-10, the orange faithful solemnly headed for the exits en masse and got ready to make the long drive back to Knoxville. Ohio State left no doubt that it was the better team on a cold Ohio winter night. As the final seconds ticked off, Ohio State fans left loose a deafening “S-E-C” chant to mock the departing Volunteers.
“They thought they were going to take over this place and we showed them pretty quick that we weren’t going to let that happen,” said Ohio State quarterback Will Howard. “I think obviously us jumping out to a pretty quick start helped with that but I have to give credit to Buckeye nation for showing up and being loud.”
Day needed a win like this badly and finally showed the aggression fans were begging for against Michigan. When this version of Ohio State shows up, with an attacking offense and a ferocious defense, it has a legitimate argument as the best team in the country. This team looked loose in a way that it never does against Michigan and played as dominant a game as it has all season in a pressurized spot that prompted athletic director Ross Bjork to publicly defend him earlier in the week.
When it was all over, an ecstatic Bjork hugged and celebrated with players and Ohio State luminaries like former head coach Urban Meyer, beaming over the performance he just witnessed.
Ohio State came out swinging from the jump, and Tennessee had no answer for it. Day and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly seemed to remember Jeremiah Smith is the nation’s best receiver after only getting him five catches for 35 yards in that loss to Michigan. Against Tennessee, Ohio State smartly got the ball to Smith all over the field to the tune of six catches for 103 yards and two touchdowns.
“You could tell from the jump they had a look in their eye they weren’t going to lose this game,” Day said.
Quarterback Will Howard looked terrific, hitting Smith and Emeka Egbuka with multiple on-the-money passes that Vols defenders had no chance of stopping. He finished 24 of 29 for 311 passing yards, two touchdowns and one interception. His one real mistake, a second-quarter endzone interception, came on what looked like pass interference against Smith and a 50/50 call on whether Tennessee defender Will Brooks stayed inbounds on the interception catch.
Had it gone the other way, Ohio State would be up 28-0 and the game would be all but over. But after Tennessee scored a field goal and later added a touchdown on a drive that again benefited from a controversial officiating call, Ohio State was up only 21-10 despite dominating the first half. Even worse, Tennessee was set to start the second half with the ball.
In that moment you could feel the Ohio State faithful get tenser and the Tennessee fans come alive after the Buckeyes’ early haymakers effectively shushed them. It threatened to test Day and his Ohio State team’s resolve after almost everything went its way early.
Just like it had to start the game, Ohio State came out in the second half and wasted no time reminding Tennessee it was the better team. The Buckeyes stopped Tennessee’s first five offensive drives of the second half, scored 21 straight points on offense and the blowout was on.
Ohio State’s defense was impressive throughout the night, starting with a first quarter that deprived Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava of a single passing yard. Ohio State’s defense overwhelmed Tennessee’s offensive line throughout the game, forcing Iamaleava out of the pocket and unable to do anything with the downfield passing game. Ohio State limited Tennessee’s vaunted running game to less than 100 yards deep into the fourth quarter before a garbage time touchdown drive bolstered the numbers. Ohio State certainly benefited from SEC Offensive Player of the Year Dylan Sampson getting hurt early in the game and finishing with only six yards on two carries.
A loss against Tennessee and the calls for Day’s dismissal would have been deafening. Bjork had said Day would absolutely be back next season but blowing an all-in $20 million roster with a massive amount of visiting fans in attendance might have been an indignity too big to swallow. Instead, Ohio State gets another chance at No. 1 Oregon in the Rose Bowl after the two played an instant classic that the Ducks won, 32-31, back in October.
“He takes so much heat and it’s such bullshit,” said senior defensive end Jack Sawyer. “I’m so happy for him to get a win like that and now we’ve got momentum going into this game and it’s awesome.”
If this Ohio State team is for real and the one that showed up against Michigan has been flushed away, good luck to the rest of the playoff field because this Buckeyes team looks championship-worthy.
