What Rutgers’ Greg Schiano, Ohio State’s Ryan Day said about fiery 4th quarter confrontation

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Midway through the fourth quarter, with the final result long decided, Rutgers’ meeting with No. 3 Ohio State exploded into a fiery confrontation between coaches Greg Schiano and Ryan Day.

Here’s how it unfolded:

The Buckeyes, leading 49-10 with nine minutes to play, faked a punt on fourth-and-two at their 39-yard line. Punter Jesse Mirco saw an opening on his left side and went rogue, according to Day. He ran into the space for a gain of 22 yards, and as he stepped out of bounds, Rutgers punt returner Aron Cruickshank hit him late. (Watch the play here.)

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It caused an eruption on the Ohio State sideline, with Buckeyes players confronting Cruickshank and his teammates.

Schiano sprinted across the field to help separate the pile, and in the process, began a spat with Buckeyes coach Ryan Day. (Watch the confrontation here.) The two shouted at each other for about 10 seconds before being separated. Both were assessed unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.

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Schiano explained the situation as “two coaches who protect their players.”

“It’s not Ryan Day and I,” he said. “My player was in a sea of Ohio State players and it was closing fast. I wanted to make sure of two things: I wanted to stop our team from coming across the field (because) that’s how things get very ugly, and I wanted to make sure our player got out of there safely. We’re both very competitive guys. I have the utmost respect for Ryan. We’re good friends. We’re good. There’s no problem between us.”

The coaches spoke for roughly 10 seconds during the postgame handshake following Ohio State’s 49-10 victory, a much longer period than the usual touch-and-go nature of the ceremony. (Watch the handshake here.)

“We’re good friends,” Schiano said. “We’re not going to let that get in the way. It’s a heat of the moment, competitive. We were both protecting our players. That’s what good coaches do.”

Day said in his postgame press conference that he had “no hard feelings at all” toward Schiano.

“I have unbelievable respect for him,” Day said.

Asked of his opinion on how a team should handle having a big lead against a conference opponent — the question being, essentially: Should have Ohio State run a fake punt up by 39 points? — Schiano said that it “had nothing to do with the whole chain of events there.”

“It’s literally just two competitive guys who are protecting their players,” Schiano said. “Like I said, I just didn’t want a fight to break out. It’s not good for Rutgers, it’s not good for Ohio State, it’s not good for college football. So mission accomplished: it didn’t happen.”

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Brian Fonseca may be reached at bfonseca@njadvancemedia.com.

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