Ryan Day knows 'noise' comes with Ohio State job; he silenced it in gritty, must-win moment vs. Penn State

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Ryan Day ducked out of a raucous Ohio State locker room Saturday afternoon to find the first sane place to make a call. He would find no relief from the din on the other end of the line.

"She was yelling," Day said after speaking to his wife, Christina. "I couldn't hear anything she said." 

Christina Day only goes to home games, which is probably a wise decision given ... well ... everything. She and every Bucknut within shouting distance of Beaver Stadium was, well, shouting. 

They all knew what time it was.

Time for Ryan Day to win one of these games. That would be games against top-five teams. Day was 2-7 in such contests, fueled by that unshakable three-game losing streak to Michigan.  

Time for Day to continue to prove to Penn State what's up. The 20-13 decision was Ohio State's eighth in a row over the Nittany Lions and 12th out of the last 14 meetings. 

Certainly, time to stay away from the precipice and falling out of the College Football Playoff race. A second loss would have been damaging, though not necessarily fatal. But the Buckeyes didn't come into this season hoping to sneak into the CFP; it was one of the favorites to win it. 

And as the calendar turned to November, it was time to prove that money was well spent. Day makes $9.5 million a year, and his employers (in)famously spent $20 million to assemble his roster. 

In the end, it was time to keep the season alive. 

"Momentum," Ohio State president Ted Carter relayed to Day after a midfield bear hug. 

"Left no doubt," he added.

Actually, there was plenty of doubt all afternoon. More on that in a bit. 

Day's situation, whatever it is, was a mystery wrapped in a conundrum. Saturday's result was his first win over a ranked team since last year's Penn State game. But it was also something else. The players knew what time it was, too. 

"Probably the most animated locker room I've been in in a long time," Day said. "We are going to enjoy this -- coaches, players, staff, everybody involved." 

To heck with the 24-hour rule. Ohio State is going to remember this for a while. The giant exhale you heard from Happy Valley was from happier Buckeyes and their coach. 

"I'm so happy for him to be able to shut that noise down," quarterback Will Howard told CBS Sports. 

That "noise" surrounded a talking point that Day needed to win a big one -- or, rather, another big one. It's been a while. Never mind he is the winningest active FBS coach (he is now 63-9 with an .875 winning percentage). That mere statement is complicated in Columbus, Ohio. For now, the back end of the schedule can proceed without incident. 

If the mojo holds from Saturday, it looks like No. 4 Ohio State is headed to Big Ten Championship Game against No. 1 Oregon.

Too soon?

Maybe. But when you give up calling plays and spend $3 million per year guaranteed on an offensive coordinator (Chip Kelly) and assemble the nation's No. 2 defense, much is expected. 

It looked to all crumble in the first 9 1/2 minutes. Howard couldn't have stared down superstar freshman receiver Jeremiah Smith any more before throwing a pick six, returned 31 untouched yards by Penn State's Zion Tracy. The Nittany Lions led 10-0.

Howard later fumbled a yard from the goal line in the second quarter, putting a game that would been under control into the questionable category. 

"Man, we willed that game to be a win," Howard said. "We gutted it out." 

Penn State, though, played a familiar role in this series. It has as much support as any program in the country. Saturday's crowd of 111,030 was the largest in Beaver Stadium history. 

At key points, at key positions, at key moments like this, the Nittany Lions just don't have enough. Howard's gaffes helped keep the game close. Penn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki tried to trick things up by having five different players take snaps. That had the desired effect of keeping Ohio State somewhat off balance,

But it also sent another message: Penn State couldn't win this game straight up. The Nittany Lions final surge sputtered after one of the most unimaginative goal-line plays as there could be. From the Ohio State 3-yard line, three straight runs into the middle of the line gained only two yards. On fourth down, Drew Allar's pass fell incomplete to a covered receiver. 

"When you're back is against the wall, all you can do is throw punches," defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau said. "We kept swinging."

For the first time in 130 games, Penn State did not score an offensive touchdown, dating back to 2014. And while it could be said Nittany Lions look like they've played themselves into a first-round home game in the playoff in this Beaver mad house, the result didn't feel like a net positive. 

Instead, redemption wore Scarlet and Gray all over the field on Saturday. 

The left side of the Ohio State offensive line had to be reshaped because of injury. It accounted for itself well, with left guard Donovan Jackson moving to left tackle and backup center Carson Hinzman starting at left guard.

The running game that was largely stuffed by Nebraska got 95 yards out of one of the prizes of that portal class, Ole Miss transfer Quinshon Judkins. 

Defensive back Davison Igbinosun had become so handsy lately that Ohio State secondary coach Tim Walton had him wear what amounted to oven mits in practice this week.

"I accepted it," Igbinosun said. "I was holding too much against Nebraska ... It worked." 

The result was one of the more spectacular interceptions you'll ever see. With his back to the ball, Igbinosun not only snatched the ball away from Penn State receiver Harrison Wallace II in the end zone at the end of the first half, but also got a foot down before controlling the ball to the ground.

"I want to say I did something crazy, but I want to say it was God who put the ball in my hands," Igbinosun added. 

There was some symmetry in Howard, who is part of that $20 million club after transferring from Kansas State. He was trusted to run for two big first downs to help run out the clock. Howard was asked if those runs were more needed than destined after his two turnovers. 

"A little bit of both," Howard said. "We said we had to put this on my legs at the end of the game ... Believe me, it would have been a terrible feeling if we did lose that game." 

 "He willed it to happen," Day said. "He had a look a look in his eye all week he was not going to lose this game."

Such things are said after grinders like this. It still remains a bit ridiculous that Day was feeling pressure. The difference in the season is a one-point loss at Oregon when Howard lost track of time in Eugene. 

But programs like Ohio State exist on a different level. Ohio State was the better team on paper. But sometimes that paper can fly away like hot dog wrappers in the State College breeze. 

The playoff isn't good enough. Sometimes winning isn't good enough. It's how many you can string together by the third week of January. 

On wonderfully brilliant Saturday, then, neither team's execution on the field was altogether sharp. But Day and his Buckeyes did just enough to earn a stay.

"We got blinders on," Tuimoloau said. "A lot of people are going to say a lot of things, but the only thing that matters is what goes on in the Woody [Hayes football facility] and what the Lord thinks of us. 

"[Day] coached hard for us," he added. "We got to pay it back. We did just that."