Miami (FL) football will watch an abundance of Ohio State playmakers on film including Jeremiah Smith. The difference is, Mario Cristobal and company has Ryan Day to scrutinize too before their College Football Playoff showdown.
Day left the offensive play-calling in the hands of Brian Hartline and Chip Kelly the past two seasons. The latter won the national title with the Buckeyes, while the former accepted South Florida's head coaching job.
So how does Day factor into the film watching plans? Patrick Murphy of 247Sports shared what approach defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman will take.
“Hetherman said Miami has to get a feel for how different Ohio State's offense is with Ryan Day taking over offensive play-calling duties and how they are calling the game. He said he will go back to the film from games a couple of year ago,” Murphy posted on the social media website X, formerly Twitter.
Miami presents defensive edge over Ryan Day, Ohio State?
Some will wonder if there's play-calling rust on the side of Day. He hasn't called an offense since 2019. Again, he gave his last two OCs lots of power.
Day, though, created efficient and explosive offenses before. The 2017 Buckeyes averaged 41.1 points per game to rank sixth, then increased to 42.4 PPG in 2018. The late Dwayne Haskins led the nation in passing yardage (4,831) and touchdown passes (50) that season.
Day's Buckeyes are entering the Cotton Bowl as more than the defending champs. They're a 9.5-point favorite to top the Hurricanes.
However, this Miami defense won't be a pushover. Rueben Bain and company collected seven sacks of dual-threat passer Marcel Reed on Saturday. Even true freshman Bryce Fitzgerald delivered the game-winning interception in the 10-3 road win.
Ohio State brings its set of confidence into Arlington. But Miami is another just as confident, and not backing from a fight.
