Ranking the three most unique tailgates in college football
From barbecues to trains to boats… college football fans love to get creative with their tailgate plans. Mackenzie Salmon highlights the three most unique experiences from across the country.
After his third straight loss to Michigan — an almost unforgivable sin for any Ohio State coach — Ryan Day has only two choices, one of which will define the rest of his career.
He must either commit to completely abandoning the ultra-conservative approach that once again cost him in the only game that really matters, or he must admit that he is not the right fit for Ohio State and sprint to Texas A&M .
Unlike the last two years, Saturday wasn’t a big indictment of Day’s play or Ohio State’s toughness. It wasn’t a glitch or an embarrassment. Simple: Michigan won 30-24 because its quarterback played slightly better than Ohio State’s.
That’s the difference between winning the Big Ten and staying home next week. That’s what separates a College Football Playoff berth from a disappointing postseason. Despite all the accusations surrounding this rivalry, the difference between the two teams turned out to be plain and simple.
But that three-year period of Michigan dominance — the first since 1995-97 — is now part of any discussion about Day’s future. If he can steer the rivalry back toward Ohio State, the “yes, but” will always be in the background. If he can’t do that, his nearly flawless record against everyone else in college football won’t be enough to save his job at some point.
This is where Texas A&M comes into play.
Considering it’s agent season and agents often have reason to exaggerate interest in their clients or just make up nonsense, it was quite the eye-opener on Saturday when Fox and The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman said the Aggies might manage to replace Jimbo Fisher at Day.
It makes sense. Texas A&M likes to hire high-caliber recruits and has nearly unlimited financial resources, but there is no obvious top candidate with a track record of success at the highest level.
Normally, the idea of the Texas A&M coach poaching the Ohio State coach would be ridiculous. But these aren’t normal circumstances and the opportunity to hire an established 56-7 winner as head coach is definitely worth a shot.
Had Ohio State won on Saturday, that possibility would have quickly disappeared. Ohio State is a better job than Texas A&M with nearly equal resources, and Day has proven he can get very, very close to a national title there.
But at Ohio State, winning the game is everything. And it’s possible that Day just isn’t suited to a job that requires focusing on an opponent 365 days a year.
Because when you watch Day practice against everyone else, you watch him practice against Michigan, it’s clearly on his mind. He’s getting tight. He goes into a shell. He makes decisions that suggest he’s a little afraid of making the wrong choice.
And what makes it worse is that his counterpart on Saturday, Michigan offensive coordinator and interim coach Sherrone Moore, didn’t have that problem.
Moore was in the unenviable position of replacing the suspended Jim Harbaugh and played a near-perfect game. He seemed completely under control on the sideline. He took calculated risks without being overly aggressive. He opted for fourth down when it made sense — and was rewarded by converting 3-of-3. Michigan didn’t seem like a better team than Ohio State, but it was just better enough on the perimeter to win.
Meanwhile, when Day was presented with a few opportunities to play aggressive football, he didn’t take advantage of them. On the Buckeyes’ second offensive series, they faced a four-and-1 at their own 46-yard line.
Admittedly, this is a limit for any coach. But considering that Day has endured intense criticism over the past two years against Michigan for his tight grip on one of the most talented offensive players of the decade, it seemed time to send a message about the Buckeyes’ intentions To keep the ball and get an early score on the board. Instead, Day punted — not necessarily a bad decision, but certainly a fearful one.
Day’s worse sin, however, came at the end of the half after the Buckeyes drove from their own 2-yard line to the Michigan 34 with under a minute left. With the score down 14-10 and a four-and-two, the right risk-reward play would have been to try to get a quick first down and leave enough time to maybe get into the end zone and into halftime to take the lead.
Instead, Day was so afraid of not getting the first down and giving Michigan a few extra plays that he let the clock run out and sent Jayden Fielding in for a 52-yard field goal. Remember, in his first year as a starter, Fielding had never attempted a 50-yarder with the Buckeyes before. It was a low percentage decision disguised as a safe option and Day got what he expected when Fielding missed.
Are these two decisions responsible for Ohio State’s loss? No, not directly.
In the end, it came down to Michigan quarterback JJ McCarthy playing a clean game for the Wolverines when they needed it most and Kyle McCord finding the stage a little too big. He threw a truly terrible interception in the first quarter that gave Michigan as good as seven points, and then he threw another one on the final series as Ohio State cruised toward a possible win.
If you want to blame Day for failing to recruit or develop a better quarterback, that’s fine. But McCarthy’s years of starting experience and McCord’s inability to get meaningful reps until this season because he was blocked by CJ Stroud showed in this game. This is football.
But macro-wise, Day has a real problem in this matchup. Michigan plays and practices with confidence and freedom. Ohio State plays and practices with inhibition, which suggests they are feeling the pressure much more acutely.
The day must change this dynamic. There is no other choice for him – except perhaps now to throw away everything for College Station, a big pile of money and other expectations.
After another crushing disappointment at the hands of Michigan, a fresh start could be quite an enticing outcome for all parties.