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This year, McCord led the FBS with 4,326 passing yards and helped the Orange to just their second nine-win season since 2001. In the regular-season finale, McCord propelled Syracuse to its largest comeback in program history, as the Orange rallied from 21 down to stun sixth-ranked Miami. Afterward, McCord was asked about outdueling Heisman finalist Cam Ward on the same day Ohio State scored just 10 points in its loss to Michigan.
“Everything comes full circle,” McCord answered with a smirk. Coach Fran Brown repeatedly said he would send Day champagne for letting the quarterback go.
A month after McCord entered the transfer portal, the Buckeyes landed Will Howard, a coveted quarterback transfer who had helped Kansas State to the 2022 Big 12 championship. Howard ranked in the top five in QBR all year and brought an edge to the Buckeyes. After an emphatic rout of fifth-ranked Indiana the game before Michigan, Howard simulated stomping out a cigarette, trolling Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti.
Yet against Michigan, Howard struggled. He tossed two interceptions, as the Buckeyes failed to score in the second half for the first time in 13 years. Afterward, all Howard could do was apologize for losing The Game.
“It was hard. I’m not going to lie. … It sucked,” Howard said this week. “It was terrible for all of us. Terrible loss. But man, we can’t let it beat us twice. We can’t.”
CHIP KELLY HAS known Day since he recruited him to play quarterback at New Hampshire 26 years ago. In February, Day recruited Kelly to leave his post as UCLA’s head coach and become his offensive coordinator. Day surrendered playcalling duties to Kelly with hopes it would give the Buckeyes a jolt offensively. Before he coached the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers in the NFL, Kelly turned Oregon into college football’s top scoring offense.
But against Michigan, Kelly stuck with an ineffective running game, while Jeremiah Smith, the Big Ten Freshman and Receiver of the Year, had only one catch for 3 yards on just two targets after halftime, both in the third quarter.
Still, the brunt of the criticism fell on Day. As Michigan took a knee to end the game, “F— Ryan Day” chants came pouring down from the Ohio State student section.
“He understands the weight of what this position is, being the head coach at Ohio State,” Kelly said this week. “It’s different than probably some other places. But I think Ryan’s done a great job with it. You always look to your leader and how does the leader handle it?”
Day said they’ll learn from the Michigan loss, but they’re focused on the playoff and Tennessee.
“We care a lot, and we know what it means to Ohio State to win football games around here,” he said. “We understand what that [Michigan] game means. But ultimately that’s behind us. … And we’re going to play our tails off on Saturday night.”
ESPN reporters DJ Bien-Aime and Daniel Oyefusi contributed to this story.
