ESPN Host Flames Ohio State Buckeyes Coach Ryan Day For Late Game Call vs. Maryland Terrapins

ESPN host Matthew Barrie didn't seem too pleased with Ohio State Buckeye head coach Ryan Day's choice to go for a late-game score.

The final results of Ohio State's Week 6 matchup with Maryland seem relatively uneventful looking back, as the Buckeyes claimed the victory, 37-17. The Terrapins gave OSU quite a bit of trouble through most of the first three quarters, but ultimately ran out of gas in the fourth and allowed the Buckeyes to run away with it.

Head coach Ryan Day and his Ohio State squad were 19.5-point favorites heading into the game and they covered that spread, thanks to a late-game field goal when the game was firmly in hand. Day's decision to add more points to the Buckeyes' total though, didn't sit right with at least one ESPN host.

Matthew Barrie expressed his thoughts about the choice on Sunday's episode of The Matthew Barrie Show. 

“Ryan Day ought to be ashamed of himself,” Barrie said. “They were up 17 late, kicked a meaningless field goal to go up 20. That spread was 19 1/2. For those of us that were on Maryland plus the points, that was a real backbreaker.”

It seems like Barrie was at least partially joking, but it was an interesting call by Day nonetheless after a sluggish game. Perhaps he thought his team needed to end on a high note, or he just wanted to bump the score up for the pollsters. In any case, the Buckeyes moved to 5-0 on Saturday and up to No. 3 in the AP Polls.

With that move upward, Ohio State has positioned itself in a deadlock with second-ranked Michigan. If each maintains their positions, it's going to make for a huge rivalry game in Week 13. 

Before that though, the Buckeyes have a slate full of Big Ten games that could cause some serious issues, especially if they open up with a first half like the one they had in Week 6. Next Saturday, Ohio State will have one more chance to get things tuned up against Purdue before facing top-ten ranked Penn State in Week 8.

It's not the first time Day's stirred up the media this season, and likely won't be the last. For the Buckeyes fanbase, as long as he keeps winning, that's just fine with them.