Ohio State coach Ryan Day had some explaining to do after his team’s unimpressive 21-7 victory over 1-8 Northwestern on Saturday.
The Buckeyes actually fell behind 7-0 and went into halftime tied at 7 against the hapless Wildcats. Ohio State only really pulled away in the fourth quarter. The game was played in difficult conditions, as players had to contend with rain and 40 MPH wind gusts throughout the game, which certainly impacted the game plan.
Day seized on the weather as an excuse for his team’s poor performance, saying he had never experienced conditions like that in a game.
During his ESPN postgame interview, Day says "I've never seen anything like" the weather conditions Ohio State played in at Northwestern.
— Griffin Strom (@GriffinStrom3) November 5, 2022
Ryan Day says on the radio that the weather conditions made Saturday's game "like going to the dentist" for the OSU offense.
— Griffin Strom (@GriffinStrom3) November 5, 2022
Did the weather have an impact? It obviously did. The Buckeyes could not throw as much as they would have liked, and wound up throwing just 26 passes with only ten in the second half. That also made it easier for Northwestern’s defense to anticipate the running game, but it is still concerning that Ohio State and its superior talent failed to overpower a pedestrian Northwestern run defense. Ohio State tallied 207 rushing yards, but 44 of those came on a C.J. Stroud scramble that was meant to be a pass.
Ohio State remains unbeaten and are still firmly in contention for a playoff bid. However, there have been cracks in the facade lately, and performances like Saturday’s will be punished by better teams no matter how the weather is.
