Ryan Day went head-to-head with a former coworker on Saturday, and tensions flared in the fourth quarter when Ohio State appeared to call a fake punt while up 39 points late.
Jesse Mirco opted to run for a first down on his own accord, Day said after the game, and a late hit on the Buckeye punter by a Rutgers special teams player incited a kerfuffle on the Ohio State sideline. Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano ran all the way across the field to confront Day, and the pair’s brief verbal spat stole many of the headlines from the 49-10 Buckeye win.
Rutgers/Ohio State players and coaches had to be separated on the field after this late hit. pic.twitter.com/NPZ0lN3lcy
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 1, 2022
However, Day expressed nothing but respect for Schiano, who coached alongside Day on Urban Meyer’s staff in 2017 and ‘18, after the game.
“They came after the punt and Jesse rolled out to the right. And nothing we had ever worked on, he just saw it and took it. Just being a football player. And then took that shot on the sideline and things got heated and just, one coach defending their side, one coach defending theirs.”
“No hard feelings at all. I told him that after the game. I have an unbelievable amount of respect for him. So, that’s all that was.”
Day said he talked to Mirco about his decision after the fact, and that it might not be the last time he discusses the move with Ohio State’s second-year punter.
“Yeah, I just grabbed him. I said, 'What happened?' And he said, 'I rolled out to the right,' he goes, 'nobody was on me.' I said, 'Okay. Anybody tell you to do that? He says, 'No.' I said, 'Okay, we'll talk about that tomorrow.'”
Much more instrumental in the Buckeyes’ win was a monster performance on the ground by Miyan Williams, who finished with a career-high 21 carries, 189 yards and an Ohio State single-game record-tying five touchdowns against the Scarlet Knights.
See. You. Later.
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) October 1, 2022
Miyan Williams goes 70 yards for his 4th TD of the day.@Miyannnn3 x @OhioStateFB pic.twitter.com/1gSfU9urad
Williams’ touchdown total tied previous efforts from Pete Johnson (1975) and Keith Byars (1984), and the third-year Buckeye running back said he feels honored to be in their company.
“They didn’t tell me until after (that I tied the record). After I scored the last one, that’s when I found out. … It wasn’t like a jolt of energy (when TreVeyon Henderson went down), I just told him, I looked him in his eyes, I told Tre like, ‘I got you. I got you today,’” Williams said after the game. “It’s a blessing just to be up there with them names. Those are legends here, so yeah, it’s definitely a blessing.”
Usually Ohio State’s second-string running back, Williams stepped up in place of Henderson, who didn’t play after being declared a last-minute game-time decision ahead of kickoff. Day said the Buckeyes expected Henderson to be active against Rutgers, but that the injury he suffered two weeks ago against Toledo reared its head in pregame warmups and kept him out of action on Saturday.
“We certainly didn’t expect that to happen going in, but then he just struggled in warmups. So we were expecting him to play, he practiced this week and it showed up and kind of did linger from last week. We were kind of surprised he wasn’t able to make it, and so we had to go with Miyan.”
But Williams made the most of his opportunity, although he said he never expected to run for five touchdowns in a college game in the Big Ten.
“The most I scored in high school was six touchdowns in a game. I never would’ve thought. I never would’ve thought I’d have a game like this.”
In the passing game, C.J. Stroud had a strange outing, finishing with his lowest yardage total in a start at Ohio State (154) on 13-for-22 completions with two scores and a pick. Still, six different targets caught a pass on the day, and Stroud said the Buckeye offense – which scored seven touchdowns on its 11 possessions, had a commendable performance.
“I’ve built a good chemistry with everybody, the young guys even. Sometimes when we’re throwing the ball so efficiently, it’s a big surprise when we’re not perfect every Saturday, but I feel like our rhythm was fine. We just have to be smart on our drives, and we only didn’t score on one drive; that’s a really efficient day. I think we’ll continue to get better at the end of the day. I think both the run and pass were great.”
On defense, Buckeye linebacker Steele Chambers stole the show with an 11-tackle effort that included two tackles for loss and an interception. The former running back also had an interception last season but said he still didn’t feel totally comfortable with the ball in his hand as he returned the pick for 12 yards to set the Buckeye offense up at the Rutgers 20.
“It felt terrible, I didn't know what to do afterwards. I haven't had the ball in my hand in like two-and-a-half years or something. So I just kind of ran into the sideline and ended up getting tackled by the quarterback. But it is what it is, at least I caught it. But I didn't do too good after the catch. No YAC.”
- #3 Ohio State 49, Rutgers 10
- • Buckeyes Beat Rutgers With Ease, 49-10
- • My Oh Miyan: Williams Chops Down Knights
- • Chambers, Eichenberg Making LB a Strength
- • Williams Ties Single-Game Rush TD Record
- • Ohio State Postgame• Notebook • Quotebook • Photos
- • 3 Key Stats • Five Things • Social Reactions • Rutgers Postgame
