COLUMBUS — With the invaders Tennessee Raucous fans ready to attempt to take over Ohio Stadium with what felt like more than 30,000 fans, Ryan Day aggressively silenced opposing fans – and critics – in a dominant 42-17 victory.
Before the game, as more and more orange jackets, slides and jerseys poured into the stadium, it felt like a referendum that day. Apparently, 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.”
Columbus’ “Tennessee Takeover” began Friday night as orange clothing populated local bars and there were plenty of whiskey-induced cheers and Vols chants in the typical haunts of Ohio State fans. A drunk Ohio State fan was so disturbed by the scene inside the Short North Pint House that he turned to a friend and said, “I want to fight. This is our turf .”
The Buckeyes had more than enough fight to defend the Horseshoe, even though many more intruders were forcing their way into the building than anyone could have imagined.
Late in the third quarter, after Ohio State took a 35-10 lead, the Orange faithful solemnly headed for the exits en masse and prepared 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 that saw temperatures drop into the low 20s. As the final seconds ticked were ticking away, Ohio State fans broke out a deafening chant of “SEC” to mock the departing Volunteers.
“They thought they were going to take over this place and we showed them pretty quickly that we weren’t going to let that happen,” Ohio State quarterback Will Howard said. “I obviously think our pretty quick start helped with that, but I have to give credit to Buckeye Nation for showing up and being loud.”
Day sorely needed a win like this and finally showed the aggression fans were craving against Michigan. When this version of Ohio State shows up, with an offensive attack and a ferocious defense, they have a legitimate argument as being the best team in the country. This team looked loose as it never has against Michigan and played as dominant a game as it has all season in a high-pressure place that prompted athletic director Ross Bjork to publicly defend Day earlier in the week.
When it was all over, an elated Bjork hugged and celebrated with Ohio State players and luminaries like former head coach Urban Meyer, beaming at the performance he had just witnessed.
Ohio State came out of the jump and Tennessee had no answer for that. Today’s offensive coordinator Chip Kelly seemed to remember it Jeremiah Smith is the nation’s leading receiver after having just five catches for 35 yards in that loss to Michigan. Against Tennessee, Ohio State smartly passed the ball to Smith all over the field to the tune of six catches for 103 yards and two touchdowns.
“You could see from the jump that they weren’t going to lose this game,” Day said.
Strategist Will Howard looked great, hitting Smith and Emeka Egbuka with several passes on the money that the Vols defenders had no chance of stopping. He finished 24 of 29 for 311 passing yards, two touchdowns and one interception. His only real mistake, an interception in the end zone in the second quarter, came on what looked like pass interference against Smith and a 50/50 call on whether the Tennessee defender Will Brooks remained within the limits of the interception catch.
If things had gone the other way, Ohio State would be up 28-0 and the game would basically be over. But after Tennessee scored a field goal and later added a touchdown on a drive that again benefited from a controversial call by the referee, Ohio State led only 21-10 despite its first-half domination . Even worse, Tennessee was ready to start the second half with the ball.
At that point, you could feel the Ohio State crowd getting tenser and the Tennessee fans coming back to life after the Buckeyes’ early haymakers effectively silenced them. It threatened to test the resolve of Day and his Ohio State team after almost everything went wrong early.
Just as the game needed to start, Ohio State came out in the second half and wasted no time reminding Tennessee that they were 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 dominated Tennessee so much that not only its backup quarterback (Devin Brun) entered the game, as did third-string freshman quarterback Julien Sayin.
Ohio State’s defense was impressive throughout the night, starting with a first quarter that deprived Tennessee’s quarterback Nico Iamaleava of a single passage yard. Ohio State’s defense overwhelmed the Tennessee offensive line throughout the game, forcing Iamaleava out of the pocket and rendering him unable to do anything in the passing game downfield. Ohio State held Tennessee’s vaunted running game to less than 100 yards deep in the fourth quarter before a running-time touchdown boosted the numbers. Ohio State certainly benefited from winning SEC Offensive Player of the Year Dylan Sampson getting injured early in the game and finishing with just six yards on two carries.
A loss to Tennessee and the calls for Day’s firing would have been deafening. Björk had said that Day would absolutely be back next season, but blowing a $20 million overall roster with a massive number of visiting fans in attendance might have been an indignity too big to swallow. Instead, Ohio State gets another shot at No. 1 Oregon in Rose Bowl after the two played an instant classic that the Ducks won 32-31 in October.
“He takes so much heat and it’s so much bullshit,” senior defensive end Jack Sawyer said about his head coach. “I’m so happy that he gets such a win and now we have momentum going into this game and it’s great.”
The last time Sawyer was at Ohio Stadium, he was clinging to a Michigan flag that the Wolverines were trying to plant at midfield, an ugly scene that included pepper spray and thrown punches and shoves between the two teams. That led to a long and difficult three weeks for Day after that fourth straight loss to Michigan sparked increasing speculation about whether he was the right man to lead the program.
On Saturday night, that pressure seemed to energize Day to be his best self rather than crumbling under the high expectations of the scarlet and gray fans in attendance.
If this Ohio State team is for real and the one that showed up against Michigan was eliminated, good luck to the rest of the playoff field because this Buckeyes team looks championship worthy.
It’s been a long month for Day after a fourth straight loss to Michigan led to increasing speculation about whether he was the right man to lead the program.
“I told him a long time ago he was built for this,” offensive coordinator Chip Kelly said. “He understands it, he understands the gravity of his position. He understands how everyone feels about Buckeye football and rightly so. He feels exactly the same way. I don’t think anyone took the loss against the Northern team took the loss harder than he did.”
If this version of Day and his Ohio State team is real and the one that showed up against Michigan was eliminated, good luck to the rest of the playoff field because this Buckeyes team looks championship worthy.