Ohio State’s frustrations with officiating boiled over again after the Buckeyes’ game against Indiana, and Ryan Day made it clear Tuesday that he’s had enough.
The biggest issues came on pass plays, where Jeremiah Smith appeared to be on the wrong end of repeated contact before the ball arrived and never got the benefit of a flag. There were also a couple of missed holding calls that helped the Hoosiers, along with what Day and others viewed as a roughing the passer call on Jaylen McClain that should not have stood.
Day had been animated with officials on the sideline Saturday, but the postgame anger carried into his Tuesday press conference when the subject came up again. He said the staff had already turned in several plays from the game and noted there had been accountability, but he also made it clear that doesn’t erase the frustration.
"We turned in several plays in that game. Quite honestly, there was accountability taken.
But sometimes you feel like it's a day late and a dollar short. I think these guys are trying.
They. mean well. But we know these are big decisions that change people's lives, and so we're going to keep communicating with them...
To say that it's not sometimes frustrating would not be true."
Day also pointed directly to one of the Smith pass interference plays, saying the video leaves little room for debate.
"When you see a photograph, it takes you back, because you see what you see. There's nothing we can do about anything in the past.
I'm not trying to sit here and bash anybody. But you guys saw it.
You see the pictures, you see the film. You know what's there.
Hope isn't a strategy, but I'm hoping it gets better."
Smith’s treatment has become a major issue for Ohio State, especially because he has not drawn a pass interference since his freshman season in 2024 despite several obvious-looking missed calls along the way. Day’s point was simple: the Buckeyes keep seeing the same thing, and it keeps going unpunished.
The concern is only growing because Ohio State now has a new quarterback starting, which raises the importance of getting the calls that are there. The Buckeyes may not be able to absorb the same kind of officiating mistakes if the offense has less margin for error.
At this point, Day’s message was blunt. Ohio State wants a fair whistle, and he believes it has not been getting one.
He thinks the Big Ten needs to clean it up, because the Buckeyes are seeing too many missed calls every week and even phantom flags going against them. That, in Day’s view, cannot keep happening.
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