Well, we all know how Ohio State Buckeyes HC Ryan Day carries the burden of his head coaching job. But do you know what might feel heavier for Day and his squad? The burden of the Oregon curse. October 12 turned out to be an ominous day for the Buckeyes. They accepted defeat against Dan Lanning’s Ducks by just one point. That multiplied the regret by 100x.

But Day is lucky to have a second chance. So, it’s time for some tips. The college football analyst gives Day some last-minute advice to shake off the Oregon curse, turning a loophole in their favor. 

CFB analyst’s playbook for Ryan Day

The Eugene wound might still be nudging Day a bit. Last time, Buckeyes WR Jeremiah Smith landed in a deep soup when he got penalized for an offensive pass at the very last moment. Plus, Will Howard too faltered by sliding to the ground a second earlier. That’s what blocked all the doors of Day’s squad, stopping them from kicking a game-winning field goal. However, it’s time for the Buckeyes to move on from their past mistakes and whip up a plan to land Lanning’s Oregon in trouble. Here enters college football analyst Josh Pate with some tips. Just for Day, the analyst put together a list of what teams have done to beat Oregon.

He stated, “Oregon’s given up some points they’ve faced three college football playoff teams this year; they gave up 34 to Boise, 31 to Ohio State 37 to Penn State in the Big 10 championship game.” Here comes the concerning number about the Ducks- Lanning’s boys gave up 218 yards on the ground and averaged over 215 rushing yards against college football playoff programs they faced off this season.

The most obvious reason why Day’s boys lost its first meeting with Lanning’s program was the big plays they allowed on defense. Coming up with eight plays of 25-plus yards in that game, six of them were for scoring drives. That’s how limiting big plays has been a major concern. But Pate has some advice: “The trade-off is you get to the quarterback. So you affect him, maybe you force turnovers and in the end.”

He continued, “In the end you don’t care that you gave up a couple of explosive plays. Because, in the aggregate, the turnovers, the pressure you forced, they were enough to where with your own scoring potential, it tilted the game in your favor.” Here’s how adding pressure on the quarterback is their biggest weapon against the Ducks.

Pate also advised them to go with the scoring pattern 8-10-12 instead of 3-5-6 play. Now what if Oregon unleashes its dark side too? “If Oregon does that if they put together that lethal and methodical, and offensive performance against you? Well, they were the better team, and you tip your cap, but you’re Ohio State, you got the best defense in the country,” encouraged Pate. Looks like Day’s program has already signed into that revenge mode.

A painful memory driving Ryan Day and Co.’s redemption

Yes, the fire is burning bright in Columbus. The pre-Rose Bowl press conference was enough to prove that. The Ohio State defensive lineman Jaylahn “JT” Tuimoloau gave a glimpse of the mindset with which they are heading to the Bowl. Well, that has been enough of a warning for Lanning’s squad. The phenom dropped a bomb during the conference when asked about the mentality of the Ohio State defense. Tuimoloau kept it short and simple, saying, “Hungry and thankful.” Sounds like the past pain has molded them into strong players.

The defensive lineman continued, “We know how the last time went..we had a chip on our shoulder. We were riding high before that game and we took that loss and we came back and had to make a couple of changes.” Now, they have to evolve stronger. After all, the last time Day’s RB Quinshon Judkins got badly pounded. It was Lanning’s defensive tackle Derrick Harmon who snatched away the pigskin at Ohio State’s 28-yard line. 

However, this time the mishap is not going to be repeated. That’s because Ryan Day is now armed with the highest-graded Buckeyes that just beat the Tennessee Volunteers 42-17 with their star JT Tuimoloau. His feat of coming up with seven total quarterback pressures against Nico Iamaleava still haunts the Vols. Maybe this time it will be enough to seek an act of revenge against Dan Lanning’s Oregon.