Ryan Day did not need a field goal. He needed a touchdown, and he needed his quarterback, Julian Sayin, to make a throw that could have changed the game in either direction.

With Ohio State facing fourth-and-1 at Indiana’s 38-yard line in the fourth quarter, Day kept the offense on the field. That decision, according to former HC Urban Meyer, had the potential to break the locker room.

“It was a great decision,” Urban Meyer said in Fox’s post-game broadcast. “Ryan Day would’ve lost the locker room if he didn’t go for the 4th down there.”

Julian Sayin dropped back and sent the ball toward Jeremiah Smith, who beat multiple defenders and came down with a 38-yard touchdown. Ohio State led 19-7 after the play, and Day had backed his decision with a result.

An incompletion would have given Indiana the ball back with time to chase the game. Instead, Sayin and Smith connected, and the Buckeyes moved closer to ending the Hoosiers’ winning streak.

Ohio State pushed its lead to 12 points, and Day’s decision gave the Buckeyes another piece of evidence that his trust in his players can pay off when the pressure is highest.

Ohio State’s 19-15 victory ended Indiana’s 22-game winning streak and avenged the 13-10 loss in last season’s Big Ten championship game. That defeat had followed the Buckeyes through the offseason.

Day had already dealt with years of scrutiny over his record against Michigan and the team’s failures in its biggest games. Losing to Indiana again would have given critics another reason to question whether Ohio State could finish when the stakes are high.

The game was not going to be won by reputation. Ohio State’s offense had managed only three points on its first five drives. Sayin threw two interceptions, and the Buckeyes spent long stretches struggling to move the ball.

Indiana was not playing its cleanest football either, but the Hoosiers had enough defensive pressure and home-crowd energy to keep the game uncomfortable. Day had already taken a chance just before the break.

With seven seconds left in the half, Ohio State had fourth-and-goal at the Indiana 2. Ryan Day didn’t go for the field goal, and Sayin hit Bo Jackson for a touchdown to put the Buckeyes ahead 10-7. Day went for it when three points were there for the taking, and the call paid off.

Indiana, however, refused to disappear, and that showed why those 4th-down calls became important throughout the game. Josh Hoover threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Nick Marsh on the next drive, then connected with Turbo Richard for the two-point conversion to make it 19-15.

Ohio State’s margin had shrunk, and the afternoon took another worrying turn when Sayin suffered an apparent right-arm injury and left the game.

Freshman backup Luke Fahey took over as the Buckeyes tried to close it out. Their offense stalled, giving Indiana one last chance to steal the game. On fourth-and-4, Hoover found Marsh in the end zone.

Indiana thought it had one last chance to steal the game, but Nick Marsh stepped out of bounds as he came down with the catch. The Hoosiers’ drive was over. Ohio State ran out the remaining seconds in victory formation to secure the 19-15 win.

Ryan Day’s fourth-down call will stick with his players longer than most plays from the game. He could have played it safe and left the decision to his defense. Instead, he put the ball in Sayin’s hands and trusted Smith to finish the job. The pass worked, and Ohio State held on. For Day, that was a risk worth taking.

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