Ryan Day, CJ Stroud and the Ohio State Buckeyes came up one field goal short of upsetting the defending national champion Georgia Bulldogs.

Stroud had the best game of his career, throwing for 348 yards and 4 touchdowns. Stroud also damaged Georgia’s defense with 34 yards rushing at crucial moments and kept plays alive with his legs.

Following the loss to Georgia, Day and Stroud commented on the Bulldogs.

Ryan Day’s comments about Georgia

Opening statement …

“Not much to start with other than the fact that I thought our team came out and swung and played hard in this game, came up short. It came down to one play. It wasn’t just the last play. There were a lot of plays in the game that you wish you had back as coaches and players. That’s what happens in a game like this.

“But I told the guys I’m proud of the way they played. I’m proud of the way they competed. For the older guys, the seniors, proud of what they’ve done for the program. For the younger guys, the guys that are coming back, it’s an opportunity to learn and grow and see what it takes to win in the CFP.”

On the non-targeting call that injured Marvin Harrison Jr …

“I was told that it was not targeting, that he didn’t take a shot to the head, which is hard — I didn’t see it, so I don’t know. But to get a concussion and not get hit in the head, I’d have to see the replay.

“And they said that it happened after he got hit, but I’d have to take a look at the video. I wasn’t able to see the replay.”

On swinging for the fences and taking a shot at Georgia …

“Yeah. Like you said, it doesn’t mean anything if you don’t win though. And I think that’s probably what hurts the most is that, when you put that much work and that much energy and that much time into something and you’re right there and you just — you don’t get the victory.

“This is a performance business, and you win or you lose, and we lost the game. That’s just what hurts to our core. And that’s what it is. We’re here to win, and it didn’t happen.

“That being said, yeah, we came out. Guys were flying around. We were competing. In the end, we came up short. So we’ll have to figure out how to get it fixed in the off-season so that when we’re here again, we’re on top when it comes to it.

“This is the way that we need to play football. You can see the energy and passion on the sideline, and you can see the way guys were playing physical. I mean, listen, that’s a good team. Let’s call it for what it is there. They are defending national champs, undefeated. They’re a good team. But I don’t think there’s one guy in that locker room that doesn’t feel like we shouldn’t have won the game.

“Again, that’s a part of this thing that is going to sit in our stomachs for a long time.”

On Stetson Bennett’s ability to hit deep passes …

“It’s a team loss, and I thought the defense played gritty at times. They got that huge interception. They fought. They kept grinding. They had the fourth down call come back. They got the negative play. They forced a field goal.

“So, again, all we were talking about was just swinging as hard as we can. We did give up some explosive plays again. We did. And it was something that we spent a lot of time talking about is avoiding the big play. I think the difference was, in this game, it didn’t demoralize us in this game. We kept swinging and fighting, and we just kept going at it.

“But call it for what it is. If we’re going to win these games, we can’t give up those big explosive plays. They’re hard to come back from, but there was still a lot of positive things out there.”

CJ Stroud’s comments about Georgia

On the last drive vs. Georgia’s defense …

“First of all, I want to give all praise to my Lord and Savior, my Lord Jesus Christ. Just amazing to be out there in that atmosphere and have the opportunity to play my brothers again.

“Yeah. I just try to leave it all on the line. I honestly — games like this, it’s a loss for words when it comes down to one play. Honestly, it doesn’t come down to one play, so many things that line up to those plays.

“The last drive, man, I seen how much time we had with timeouts, and I knew we could do it. I tried my hardest to get us down here. I got to maybe split somebody else, make another move, just try to get a little more, but I tried my hardest.

“I think I left my heart out on that field. Of course, it’s something that’s heavy on the heart. It’s going to be tough, but I’d rather — I don’t want to go out there with anybody else. I love my teammates so much. We put everything on the line, and I would never want to do it with anybody else.”

On preparing for Georgia’s defense …

“Like I said, we had 1,500 reps. When we were out there, it was kind of like you knew what was going to happen. When you’re playing like that, you’re playing free. You’re having fun. I think that was one of the most fun games I ever played in my life. That probably was the most fun game I ever played in my life.

“It just sucks that it has to come down like that, but God’s plan, it’s something you don’t really understand in the moment. It’s something that you really won’t understand maybe ever, but He thinks greater than us. He knows greater than us, and He does greater than us. That was his plan for that to happen.

“Georgia’s defense, offense, they fought too. Helluva team, great team. Coach Smart, Coach Muschamp, D.C., did a helluva job. But I think we should have won the game of course. I definitely think we should have won the game.

“Just got to lick our wounds and keep going. Coach Day did a helluva job, man. His leadership — even though people would talk and talk and do this and do that, he just keeps showing up. When you see a man like that, that’s a true man, a man in the arena.

“Really everybody on our team, we didn’t splinter. We didn’t turn eye to eye or point fingers when we lost. We owned our mistakes and kept swinging, like our culture. I wouldn’t want to play for anybody else, with anybody else.

“Coach Day, helluva coach.”