Ryan Day Says Ohio State Players 'Are Pissed Off' After Big Ten Title Loss to Indiana

Knowing they're still all but certain to earn a College Football Playoff berth is a cold comfort to Ohio State players after a 13-10 loss to Indiana in the Big Ten championship.

"This is not going to sit well with anybody," head coach Ryan Day told reporters. "But we can use it as an opportunity to get better and grow. ... To walk off that field without a championship is going to hurt. There's a lot of guys in our locker room that are pissed off right now."

In an era of the College Football Playoff, conference title games don't carry the same stakes they once did. The Buckeyes and Hoosiers both went into Saturday's contest fully understanding the loser would be positioned to contend for a national championship.

Indiana Wins Big Ten Title

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But try to tell Day's squad that the Big Ten championship didn't matter.

"We feel like we were one play, one block, one guy, one inch away from just breaking and establishing the run game," offensive lineman Austin Sierveld said. "As an offensive line, it just sucks because we knew we were there, we just ran out of time."

As Day said, Saturday's defeat could serve to refocus and motivate the locker room ahead of the playoff.

Last year, the Buckeyes experienced a much more dispiriting result prior to the CFP as they came up short against Michigan for the fourth straight season. Once the playoff arrived, OSU was a completely different team.

In a way, losing that rivalry game might've been a blessing in disguise.

Nobody will want to be in Ohio State's half of the bracket when the full 12-team field is unveiled.