It was a huge win for Ryan Day and Ohio State! The Cotton Bowl victory secured their path to the National Championship game on January 20. And while the 28-14 margin over Texas displayed their dominance, the Buckeyes weren’t without flaws, particularly in their behavior. With just eight days remaining until the ultimate CFB showdown against Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame, thoughts are spilled.

Ahead of the nation’s most anticipated matchup, Ryan Day delivered his concerns about the Buckeyes’ biggest flaw on WBNS 10TV on January 13. Speaking of the penalties, he said, “We’re disappointed in the fact that we really let four drives get away, five with the turnover in the game with penalties.”

Calling it a “self-inflicted” flaw, he added, “We feel like we need to play our best game in this game… This is a team here that we’re about to play against, that has been unbelievable in creating turnovers and then creating scores after their turnovers. So efficiency is going to be something that we’ve got to do a much better job of in this game if we’re going to win it.”

That probably means no more of TreVeyon Henderson’s emotions going wild on the field! Many fans called out the veteran RB’s unprofessional conduct that occurred in the first quarter of the Cotton Bowl. Ryan Day called this mishap a lesson saying, “Just the fact that there was back and forth and Trey made contact with his helmet and so, Trey obviously feels terrible, terrible about it. But it’s a lesson.” 

Ohio State had a chance to end the first quarter with a strong drive but Henderson’s act of pushing a Texas defender in the face after a dead play ruined it. The Buckeyes received a 15-yard penalty to enter the second quarter with a fourth-and-21. The slow start stalled them in the first half as the Longhorns caught up to tie with their touchdown record late in the second quarter. But they quickly made up for it with a retaliation from Henderson. 

How TreVeyon Henderson righted his wrong

As much as Ryan Day felt disappointed in the personal fouls, he also feels that TreVeyon Henderson made up for his mistake. He said, “TreVeyon is somebody that certainly has grown in so many different areas of his life, and so, to see him respond the way that he did after that speaks to his maturity.” The 22-year-old tailback took a 75-yard screen pass for a crucial score to end the first half with a 14-7 lead. 

Steve Sarkisian‘s Longhorns couldn’t catch up after scoring their second TD in the third quarter. They fumbled their opportunity to tie the game as Ohio State dominated them with two scores in the fourth quarter to seal the destiny of the National Championship contender. In the end, the Buckeyes received four offensive penalties for 25 yards, the most since their November 23 game against Indiana (8). 

Who knows what outcome the Cotton Bowl would have without this penalty? Still, it’s a win-win for the Buckeyes.