Fire Ryan Day? What? OSU managed to dog-walk the Ducks out of the playoffs. The No.1 team in the country couldn’t even go past 21 points, while the Bucks ran the football up to 41 points. We had all thought that this would be one of the closest playoff games. At the end of the day, Dan Lanning wasn’t “playing for clicks”, right? Well, Ryan Day and the Bucks were just better. The Vols game was the perfect pointer at how easily OSU can dismantle an offense/defense. Nick Saban wasn’t wrong. When the Bucks lost to UM, it was solely because of a lack of confidence. Just look at what OSU can do when Ryan Day is locked and loaded, and Will Howard is throwing those picture-perfect dimes…

… But is this enough to deal with the Texan threat? 3 snaps with the Bucks, so Ryan Day knows what Quinn Ewers is capable of. Yes, he had more “growing” to do, and he did. However, one weak spot still remains. “So, he didn’t have the normal experience of adjusting and getting orientated with the team… but he was already behind a decent amount just because of how late he came in,” Day pointed out. A nitpick but something that has haunted Steve Sarkisian all year. And you can tie this with the injury woes. See, the ASU game single-handedly proved how good Ewers truly is.

Should that game be a blowout win for Texas? Definity. Did it get too close for comfort, and did the Devils almost pull a disappointment? Frick yes. But one thing you cannot complain about is Ewers’ performance. 3 touchdowns with over 322 yards. And that final drive, which set up Bert Auburn‘s field goal attempt? Chef’s kiss. Ewers followed that with another set of drives in the overtime. The most crucial? Second overtime, and Ewers threw a touchdown pass, followed by a two-point conversion. That was when ASU knew it was over.

However, would it have been much better if Texas had gotten this performance right from quarter 1? Definity. But can you complain? For one game which he truly needed to show up in, he did.

Every single dime he threw to Matthew Golden resulted in gains for the Longhorns. We didn’t get the Tuscaloosa 2023 Quinn Ewers, but whoever we did get was perfect. The Devils were just too relentless and even Sark knows they gotta step up the game. In the current scenario, if this Texas team goes up to face OSU? They are gonna get curb-stomped by the Bucks.

The North awaits

Chip Kelly, we bow. That one Michigan game was enough to knock senses into the Bucks’ offense. You have one of the best receiver rooms in the country, so why the he-k would you not use it? The Ducks had zero answers for Jeremiah Smith, Emeka Egbuka, and TreVeyon Henderson.

They didn’t just score touchdowns. They showed that Oregon doesn’t even belong in this playoff game. And this is exactly what awaits Texas. Yes, Sark has one of the best defenses in the country, but we all saw how easily Smith ran from the coverage.

No one could stop No.4. “We’re going to have to make sure that we put our best forward to give ourselves a chance to win the game,” was all Sark had to say about the Oregon vs. OSU game.

This will be one historic showdown. Although Day has taken the Bucks close to the natty, the saw of “fire Ryan Day” still hangs on his neck. They are the proverbial Kings of the OSU vs Longhorns showdown. But as history stood witness, the Ducks were the same.

The Cotton Bowl could end up deciding who truly wins the national championship.