Ohio State coach Ryan Day and Rutgers coach Greg Schiano were involved in a heated on-field spat in the fourth quarter of the teams’ game Saturday, a contest the third-ranked Buckeyes led 49-10 at the time.
The issue arose with 9 1/2 minutes remaining in the quarter and the game already well in hand for the Buckeyes. Ohio State punter Jesse Mirco ran a fake on fourth-and-2 from the Buckeyes’ 39, converting with a 22-yard run to the Rutgers 39.
Following the run, Rutgers’ Aron Cruickshank hit Mirco well out of bounds along Ohio State’s sideline, prompting the Buckeyes to converge on the Scarlet Knights player.
Schiano could be seen running across the field, seemingly to remove the rest of his players from the scrum.
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After separating his players, he got in Day’s face, pointing a finger and appearing to voice his displeasure with the fake punt. An official placed himself between the two coaches to keep them from getting physical.
Rutgers/Ohio State players and coaches had to be separated on the field after this late hit. pic.twitter.com/NPZ0lN3lcy
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 1, 2022
Here’s the clip of Greg Schiano and Ryan Day jawing at each other: pic.twitter.com/gvloGc9dVt
— Brian Fonseca (@briannnnf) October 1, 2022
Cruickshank was ejected for his hit, and both Day and Schiano were issued unsportsmanlike conduct penalties for their role in the scrum. Mirco later punted on fourth-and-8 from the Rutgers 37, downing the ball at the Scarlet Knights’ 3. Neither team scored again.
Day and Schiano kept it cordial following the game, talking at length when they met on the field:
It was cordial: pic.twitter.com/g1FfztCMZ8
— Andrew Lind (@AndrewMLind) October 1, 2022
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Day told reporters after the game that Mirco’s rush was not planned or practiced.
“They came after the punt and Jesse rolled out to the right. Nothing we had ever worked on, he just saw it and took it, just a football player,” Day said. “And then took that shot on the sideline and things got heated and just, you know, one coach defending their side, one coach defending theirs.
“No hard feelings at all. Told [Schiano] that after the game and [I] have an unbelievable amount of respect for him, so that’s all that was.”
It’s worth noting that Schiano once coached under Day for a brief period at Ohio State, when Day took over the program for three games following the suspension of then-coach Urban Meyer. Day was elevated to head coach following the season, and on Jan. 7, 2019, it was announced Schiano would leave Ohio State, potentially to look to the NFL for opportunities.
Schiano did not coach in 2019. He returned to coach the Scarlet Knights for the second time in his career in 2020.
Edward Sutelan contributed to this report.
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