Three years ago Georgia defeated Ohio State in the 2022 Peach Bowl en route to their second straight National Championship. That game was as good as it gets as Georgia stormed back from an early deficit and held on to win after a game-winning Ohio State field goal hooked left as the clock struck midnight to ring in the new year.
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day recently spoke about this defeat (along with their loss to Clemson in the 2019 Fiesta Bowl) and it’s clear that these losses are still causing him some emotional damage.
”Those two games to this day, you know — you remember the losses, you know what I mean? The wins kind of just come and go, and they're relief,” Day said via 247sports.com. “But those losses haunt you.”
Ryan Day can’t get over 2022 loss to Georgia
When speaking about their loss to Georgia specifically there is one play that he can’t get off his mind. And no, it’s not the missed field goal at the end of the game.
The play that bothers him to this day is the targeting penalty against Georgia STAR Javon Bullard that was overturned against Marvin Harrison Jr.
"It can't come down to one call. You know, either of those games, you think about the shot on Marvin, which would have been a huge play that they didn't put the flag on where if that was a personal foul, we score and go up to two scores and that game's over or the multiple calls that happened in the '19 game," Day continued. "But, like, nobody cares. We can't leave it up to one call. We have to leave no doubt."
To be fair to Day, it is still very surprising that this hit against Harrison Jr. wasn’t targeting. But thankfully for Georgia it was because it forced Ohio State to kick a field goal instead of potentially scoring a touchdown.
That play could’ve been the difference between Georgia winning and losing, and in reality Day has every right to be upset that it didn’t go their way. But that game was four seasons ago and they’ve won a national title since then, but this Georgia victory is still causing severe emotional damage to Day.