BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Ryan Day smiled at least five different times during his 10-minute postgame news conference Saturday, I think, the joy of victory breaking through every other emotion more than once. It makes sense.
In his 101st game as Ohio State’s head coach, Day saw the Buckeyes pull their greatest escape on his watch. He and his team had been on the other side many times, the moments when you felt you could have, should have won and didn’t.
Clemson in the 2019 playoff. Georgia in 2022 playoff. Indiana in the Big Ten Championship Game last season. Texas this year.
Let someone else wear that feeling for a day. Curt Cignetti had never lost a close game like this as the head coach at Indiana, and he did seem to take things in stride.
“Well, sun comes up tomorrow,” he said to start his postgame news conference.
It will. It’ll shine a little brighter in Columbus.