What Ohio State Coach Ryan Day Said After Loss to Oregon Ducks: Officiating 'Cost Us'

The Oregon Ducks beat the Ohio State Buckeyes 32-31 in a thriller on Saturday night in Autzen Stadium. Buckeyes coach Ryan Day talked after about what went wrong for Ohio State in the loss. Ryan Day was not happy with the offensive pass interference call on Jeremiah Smith.

Oct 12, 2024; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day watches during the first half of the NCAA football game against the Oregon Ducks at Autzen Stadium / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Ohio State Buckeyes and Oregon Ducks played in an instant college football classic on Saturday night. The No. 3 Ducks pulled off the upset over the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes, 32-31. 

The Buckeyes were driving for a game-winning field goal late, but an offensive pass interference derailed the drive. On the last play of the game, needing a few more yards for a field goal, Ohio State quarterback Will Howard took off to run, and the clock hit triple zeros before the Buckeyes could call timeout. 

“You hate to point fingers, and I won’t do that,” Day said. “That is a team loss.” 

Oregon Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel and Oregon Ducks running back Jordan James celebrate a touchdown by Gabriel as the No. 3 Oregon Ducks host the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024 at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Day talked about what went on during the last sequence where Ohio State was driving for a game-winning field goal attempt. 

“It felt like we were in field goal range there,” Day said. “We wanted to keep adding to the field goal because every time you add five yards, it increases it. You take a little penalty like that. It’s heartbreaking but that’s football."

Ryan Day was not happy with the offensive pass interference call on Jeremiah Smith.

“We did a great job of getting down the field and continuing to fight, but the one play there...(defensive back) is grabbing on Jeremiah Smith; Jeremiah is fighting there. They called that flag there and that cost us, but it shouldn’t come down to one play," Day said. "I’ve said that before. We want to leave no doubt. I felt like we should have done that tonight and we did not. So, then we put it in the hands of a call, and you don’t get it. That’s on us. We should never have let it come down to that."

Oct 12, 2024; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day motions during the first half of the NCAA football game against the Oregon Ducks at Autzen Stadium / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Day elaborated more on some of the miscues the Buckeyes made.

“There were some long throws down the field where they got behind us. There were some runs that split that weren’t fit correctly,” Day said. “There was more than just one thing.”

Day Talks About Autzen Stadium Atmosphere, Noise

Oct 12, 2024; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard (18) walks off the field after losing 32-31 to Oregon Ducks during the NCAA football game at Autzen Stadium. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Day gave Oregon props for getting the job done but acknowledged that Ohio State didn’t play their best.

“When you go on the road, you’re going to play in great environments. We had a couple penalties in there, some of the young guys. Some false starts there that hurt, and that’s ultimately things that we can’t accept," Day said. "I thought our guys kept fighting. They kept swinging, even down to the one-yard line at the end.... In terms of message with the team, it’s halfway through the season. It hurts. We should have won the game. Give Oregon credit, they played well but there were just too many things that we could have done better in this game but we didn’t. We have a lot of football ahead of us. We have to go get those things fixed.”

On Will Howard’s performance…

“He’s tough," Day said. "He competed all the way to the end. I give him credit and he was fighting all the way to the end. We were trying to get three guys into the boundary on the last play to get that ball completed. Somebody flashed in his face, and he scrambled. He’ll be hard on himself but he was competing all the way to the end. Made some big time throws to give us a chance to be in field-goal range. He threw a good ball to Jeremiah (Smith), but there was contact with Jeremiah. On the next play, there was contact to (Emeka) Egbuka. We’re not going to go back with those other things. It doesn’t matter at this point. It shouldn’t come down to that, but I do like the way Will (Howard) played. I thought he competed and was tough in the game.”

With the win over Ohio State, Oregon improved to 6-0 to start the season for the first time since 2013 and ninth time in program history. It was the Ducks' ninth win in program history against a top-five opponent. Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel led the Ducks offense to 496 yards of total offense, picking up 341 yards in the air and 155 rushing yards.

Next, Ohio State is on a bye week and Oregon plays on the road at Purdue on Friday, Oct. 18.

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