Ryan Day experienced a first in his Ohio State coaching tenure Saturday, but it's not exactly one he'll look back on fondly.
Oregon's shocking 41-28 blowout win in Columbus handed the Buckeyes their third loss of the season, which hadn't happened since 2011.
An early 14-0 lead by Ohio State offered a short-lived reprieve following last week's defeat at USC. However, the Ducks steamrolled the Buckeyes from that point on, with their 38-0 scoring run putting the game - and likely the College Football Playoff - out of reach for Day's program.
Day shouldered much of the blame afterward, especially for the team's offensive struggles after the opening quarter.
"We have to evaluate everything," Day told reporters postgame. "The things that we felt like we needed to do in this game, in particular on offense, were not met. Trying to figure out how to move the ball down the field with a freshman quarterback and how that all works is something that, you know, we're working hard to get done but haven't been able to get done."
The loss of star quarterback Julian Sayin to a season-ending right arm injury has crippled what was previously the nation's most explosive offense. True freshman Luke Fahey put up 360 yards passing versus Oregon, but the majority of his total came late in the fourth with the game well out of reach.
Ohio State's offense was held scoreless from the one-minute mark of the first quarter until 3:25 remained in the fourth. The Buckeyes had eight drives in that span and put up a total of 74 yards on 40 plays.
Day was quick to praise Fahey's ability to compete and instead pointed to the offense as a whole for putting the young passer in difficult situations.
"I think the kid's trying his tail off. It's a tough spot to be in for a true freshman, but the expectation is to come in and play and win," Day said. "I still think we put him in some tough spots again. My feeling right now is that we gotta do a better job of not putting him in those. Two games in a row where he's out there battling. He missed throws. He made some mistakes, for sure. But that's his second start ever against a really good team."
Ohio State's running game certainly didn't help Fahey, generating just 53 yards on the ground. That's enough to heap pressure on any quarterback, let alone one making his second career start.
However, with Sayin not coming back anytime soon, Day will be forced to try to motivate his team despite most of its preseason goals now being unattainable.
"Not some place we thought we'd be. ... You join our program, you understand what the expectations are," Day added. "You're (expected) to win every game here, so to lose three games is unacceptable, and I own that."
Ohio State hosts Northwestern next week before heading to Nebraska in Week 12. The team's season wraps up with its rivalry game against Michigan in Columbus.
