Will Howard, OSU Avoid Upset vs. Raiola, Nebraska as Fans Debate Ryan Day's Future

Despite hanging on to beat the Nebraska Cornhuskers 21-17 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Saturday, many fans took to social media to call for the No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes to fire head coach Ryan Day.

Ohio State took a 21-17 lead in the fourth quarter on a touchdown pass from quarterback Will Howard to Quinshon Judkins, and the defense sealed the deal, as Jordan Hancock intercepted Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola with just 1:16 remaining.

The Buckeyes kept their College Football Playoff hopes alive by improving to 6-1 overall and 3-1 in Big Ten play, while the Huskers fell to 5-3 with a 2-3 conference mark. Nebraska is now 0-27 against ranked teams dating back to 2016.

Over parts of seven seasons at OSU, Day has compiled a record of 62-9, but some members of the Buckeyes fanbase suggested Saturday that they were fed up with the team not performing at the consistently high level expected of them:

Ohio State led 14-3 about midway through the second quarter thanks to touchdown passes of 40 and 60 yards from quarterback Will Howard to Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith, respectively:

Things started to go south from there, though, as the Buckeyes missed a 42-yard field goal with just over two minutes remaining in the half, which allowed Nebraska to respond with a successful 54-yard field goal before going to the locker room.

Coming out of the half, the Buckeyes allowed another field goal to shrink the lead to 14-9, and their first three offensive series of the second half couldn't have gone much worse.

Howard threw an interception when Nebraska defensive back Malcolm Hartzog Jr. snagged an airmailed pass, and he returned it to the OSU 7-yard line:

The defense bailed out Ohio State's offense, though, by stopping the Huskers on a fourth-and-goal at the 2-yard line.

OSU went three and out on its next two drives, however, and Nebraska finally took advantage early in the fourth quarter when running back Dante Dowdell scored from one yard out. With a successful two-point conversion, Nebraska went up 17-14:

The pressure was firmly on the Buckeyes' shoulders after Nebraska took the lead, but Howard came through in the clutch, orchestrating an eight-play, 75-yard drive culminating in a nine-yard touchdown pass to running back Quinshon Judkins to put OSU back on top:

While Day's coaching has been questioned often in recent years, he has also been lauded for his ability to bring big-time recruits and transfers to the program.

Two of the biggest additions during the offseason came via the transfer portal in Howard and Judkins, so it was fitting that they connected on the go-ahead touchdown.

Aside from the one major miscue, Howard had another strong game, going 13-of-16 for 221 yards with three touchdowns and one pick, but defense was the biggest difference maker for OSU.

The Buckeyes held Nebraska to 273 total yards in the game, and quarterback Dylan Raiola largely struggled, going 21-of-32 for 152 yards with no touchdowns and the game-sealing interception to Hancock:

Although the Buckeyes fell to No. 1 Oregon in their last game and didn't play anywhere near their best Saturday, it seems highly unlikely that Ohio State would make a coaching state, meaning Day will almost certainly be at the helm for next weekend's pivotal clash with Penn State on the road.

Penn State entered Saturday with a perfect 6-0 record, and the winner of next week's game against Ohio State will have the upper hand in the CFP race.