Ohio State beat Maryland by 29 points, improved to 5-1, and kept its Big Ten record spotless. Still, Ryan Day walked away with plenty to be angry about with turnovers, avoidable penalties, and repeated mental mistakes. With tougher road games coming, the head coach wasn’t interested in pretending everything was fine despite a 45-16 win in front of a packed Horseshoe.

Ryan Day’s frustration spilled onto the sideline, most notably when he went after senior DL Beau Atkinson following a roughing-the-passer penalty. After the game, he was asked about his unusually animated sideline behavior. His message was that Ohio State cannot afford to keep giving opponents free opportunities and made it clear that the Buckeyes’ discipline problems start with the people running the program.

“You can’t accept that as a coach,” he said during his postgame conference, via WBNS 10TV. Ryan Day then pointed toward the coaching staff’s responsibility to establish standards and make sure players understand the consequences of ignoring them.

“If it’s not, then there’s going to be undisciplined,” he said of enforcing those standards. “We all got to own it. And I got to hold the coaches accountable. It’s my responsibility because when that’s happening, it’s a direct reflection of coaching.”

Ryan Day made it clear that chewing someone out wasn’t about putting them on display. The point was to stop the same mistakes from showing up again. The team has too much at stake for the staff to shrug off mistakes and move on.

“I’m not trying to embarrass anybody, but at the same time, we can’t let that happen,” he said. “So, that’s where that came from. And then the turnovers, again, can’t have it, can’t happen. So ultimately it comes back down to the coaches and, and it starts with me.”

Eight penalties and a turnover problem explain why Ryan Day was so irritated. Ohio State finished with eight penalties for 65 yards, with seven coming in the first half. Maryland kept getting another shot because Ohio State couldn’t stop giving away free yards. 

TJ Alford called the mistakes “unforced errors” and “self-inflicted wounds.” The defense had chances to get off the field, then blew them with careless flags. Beau Atkinson was at the center of it. He hit QB Malik Washington after the ball was gone, drawing a roughing-the-passer flag. 

The senior DL was also involved in a late hit on Maryland’s final punt return. That’s two costly lapses from a veteran player, and Ohio State can’t afford that kind of nonsense when the opposition gets tougher.

But Beau Atkinson wasn’t the only player testing Ryan Day’s patience. His frustration had already boiled over in the second quarter when Julian Sayin connected with Bo Jackson for what appeared to be another Ohio State touchdown. The celebration didn’t last long, though. Officials flagged offensive lineman Carson Hinzman for holding, wiping the score off the board and forcing the Buckeyes to replay the down. Day immediately threw his hands into the air and started shouting from the sideline. And the next play only made things worse.

Facing third-and-20, Sayin attempted a screen pass to Legend Bey, but the ball sailed past his intended target in the flat. Day responded by waving his arms even more frantically. It wasn’t just one costly penalty that had set him off. Ohio State was repeatedly making mistakes that turned promising possessions into wasted opportunities.

And the offensive problems went well beyond that sequence. Sayin put the football on the ground three times, with Maryland recovering one of those fumbles. He also forced a pass into triple coverage that could have resulted in another interception, but the Terrapins failed to hold onto the ball. Perhaps the most damaging mistake came when Isaiah West missed a pass-protection assignment, putting Sayin under pressure and contributing to the pick-six that handed Maryland an easy touchdown.

“We have eight penalties, that’s not the sign of a good team,” Day said after the game. “So we got to make sure that we’re getting that fixed and being more focused in that area, and then obviously the turnovers can’t happen.”

Ryan Day Faces Bigger Test as Ohio State Deals With Injuries and Discipline Issues

Of course, Ohio State wasn’t exactly operating with a full-strength roster. The Buckeyes entered the Maryland game without six starters: Brandon Inniss, Devin McCuin, Austin Siereveld, Christian Alliegro, Jay Timmons, and Phillip Daniels. Four were inactive for the first time this season, while Timmons missed his second consecutive game. Daniels, meanwhile, had yet to return since suffering an injury against Texas.

Day revealed that some personnel decisions were made late in the week, while others were finalized before kickoff. That left several backups with opportunities to prove themselves, and the head coach acknowledged that some had responded well. However, the absences also raised questions about Ohio State’s depth heading into a much tougher stretch of its schedule.

“I don’t think we’ll get all of those guys back that were on the list, but for sure we’re gonna get a good portion of them back for next week,” Day said, offering some encouragement ahead of the Indiana showdown.

Beyond the injury concerns, Day also explained why certain disciplinary problems are difficult to address before game day. Late hits on quarterbacks, for instance, aren’t necessarily situations that arise during practice. But he insisted those violations still need to be confronted when they occur.

His approach also reflects the standards Ohio State has been enforcing throughout the week. Disciplinary decisions involving Kyrie Wilder and Legend Bey had already reinforced the message that playing time isn’t guaranteed, regardless of talent.

And Day believes delivering that message sometimes requires confronting players directly. “There’s too much at stake here, and it’s my job as the coach to make sure that I can challenge those guys, but there has to be a certain level of trust within the program to challenge guys that hard,” he explained.

Now comes the real test. Ohio State travels to Bloomington to face No. 7 Indiana, the defending national champions, before taking on USC, with Nebraska also waiting later in the schedule. The Buckeyes have managed to overcome their shortcomings against Maryland, but the Hoosiers will offer a much clearer picture of how prepared this team really is.

For Day, the 45-16 victory was never going to excuse the performance. Ohio State has the talent to compete for another national title, but its next challenge is proving it can play with the discipline expected of a championship contender.