Ryan Day: Ohio State Players 'Devastated' After Michigan Loss; 'Not Easy to Accept'

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said that losing a fourth straight game to Michigan on Saturday left the Buckeyes with "a locker room full of guys that are devastated."

"This is not easy to accept, and obviously you have to take the ownership," Day told reporters after the loss. I'm the one, ultimately, that makes the final decisions on things. Felt like we were in a really good place coming into this game, I felt like we were prepared to play well in this game."

A last-second field goal by Michigan sealed a 13-10 win that damaged Ohio State's shot at the Big Ten championship game and a first-round College Football Playoff bye.

Day, who was hired as Ohio State's coach in 2019, led the Buckeyes to a 56-27 win over Michigan in Ann Arbor in his first season with the team. Since then Ohio State has been outscored by a total of 130-84 in four consecutive losses to Michigan.

"We're very disappointed," Day said on Saturday. "Never thought this would happen right here. We were expecting to win this game, and then go play in the Big 10 championship game, and neither of those things happened."

The loss ended with a skirmish after a Michigan player attempted to plant a flag at center field at Ohio Stadium.

After the game Day praised his players for their "emotion" but criticized the team's offense. Quarterback Will Howard threw an end-zone interception with a chance to take the lead in the second quarter.

Overall, the Buckeyes were held to 77 rushing yards, their second-lowest total of the season, while going 6-for-16 on third downs and 1-2 on fourth down attempts.

"I thought they played with great emotion, I thought the defense played their tails off, and I thought everybody played hard," Day said. "Just the overall execution wasn't good enough, especially on offense... we couldn't control the game, in the run game just weren't efficient enough."

Day pointed to changes in the Ohio State offensive line, including the losses of starting left tackle Josh Simmons and starting center Seth McLaughlin to season-ending injury, as part of the reason for the Buckeyes' struggles in the loss.

"Some of those guys have to look at the film and figure it out, but we just couldn't seem get through to the second level on some runs, and that led to some frustration," Day said.

This latest rivalry loss was arguably the most impactful in the four-game streak. Ohio State now needs Penn State to lose to Maryland, and Indiana to lose to Purdue, in order to get a shot at the Big Ten title.