Honestly, it’s probably a moot point but I said to my friends during the end of the 4th that I thought Day purposefully wanted that illegal substitution and it was his version of what Lanning did to him in Eugene.

It’s 3rd and short, Michigan had been running for 3-4 a pop, and there’s roughly 1:50 left on the clock with two timeouts left. If Michigan converts that 3rd and short, they would have had 1st and goal with 1:45 left and only 1 OSU timeout. If Ohio State forces a field goal, Michigan would have kicked the field goal with roughly 15 seconds left in the game. 

So, Day purposefully gets that penalty instead of taking a chance on the defense and only losing about 45 seconds off the clock (ended up being around a minute because of the OSU defender’s helmet falling off, causing a 10 second runoff). By committing the penalty, it allowed him to retain his second timeout while not letting the clock run, ergo saving himself a play.

Ultimately, Day had the intention of getting the ball back with 1 minute left either down 3 or 7 points, rather than trying to get a stop and essentially handing Michigan the win with 10-15 seconds left. 

I think it was the right call given the circumstances. Mullings breaking contain is what ultimately lost that specific drive, so you needed to give the offense as much time as they could if you actually wanted to hold them to 3 points. 

I know none of it matters regarding the game, but something to keep in mind in the playoffs and future.