Day to call plays for OSU in CFP game vs. Miami

Ohio State coach Ryan Day said he will take over calling offensive plays in the second-seeded Buckeyes' College Football Playoff opener on New Year's Eve against Miami.

Ohio State offensive coordinator Brian Hartline, who called plays during the regular season, is balancing responsibilities, having recently taken the head coaching job at USF.

Day added that Hartline will focus on coaching Ohio State's receivers in the CFP.

"We wanted to take [playcalling] off of Brian's plate because he's got so much going on with what he's trying to do," Day said Monday. "Ultimately it will be my decision what calls go into the game.

"It's such a strange calendar and the timing is brutal. But he's handled it great, as you can imagine. It's a lot on his plate. It's a lot to manage. So we're kind of taking it day-to-day right now, just in terms of as we move forward."

As head coach, Day called Ohio State's offensive plays until last season, when he relinquished those duties to Chip Kelly. After the Buckeyes won the national championship, Kelly left to be the offensive coordinator for the Las Vegas Raiders and Day promoted Hartline from receivers coach.

Under Hartline, the Buckeyes (12-1) rank 17th nationally in scoring, averaging almost 35 points per game, and have the fifth-ranked offense of the remaining eight teams, averaging 429.5 yards per game. Although they scored just 10 points in their Big Ten championship loss to Indiana, the Buckeyes twice drove the ball inside the Indiana 10-yard line in the second half but failed to come up with any points.

Day called plays on offense the first five years he was Ohio State's head coach.

Over the past couple seasons, Day said he has done a better job of learning how to manage the game.

"I think it's more just about when you're not calling it, your eyes aren't down on the call sheet. You're with the defense. You're watching the offense. You're watching the other side. You're watching what's going on as opposed to being down on your call sheet. And I think that's where we got to be good upstairs," Day said. "There's not a game that's gone by where I'm not involved or listening to every call and making sure it's what we've agreed upon going in. So, it's similar to the way it was before."

Tenth-seeded Miami (11-2) knocked off Texas A&M 10-3 on Saturday in the first round to advance against the Buckeyes at the Cotton Bowl.

Information from ESPN's Jake Trotter and The Associated Press was used in this report.