VIDEO: Ohio State Fans Should Be Upset With Ryan Day for Endangering Justin Fields on Late 4th Down

With the CFP on the horizon, every top team has to make sure their squad is as strong as they can be for the biggest games of the season. Ohio State coach Ryan Day didn't get that message, as he left quarterback Justin Fields in on a fourth down while up 11 with just over two minutes remaining. Rather than just attempting a field goal, punting, or even throwing a short slant on a three-step drop, Fields was left to create on his own.
Justin Fields was injured on this play, a 4th-and-5 with Ohio State up 28-17 with 2:17 to go #PSUvsOSU pic.twitter.com/2ltPGXtg7n
— Kevin Boilard (@247KevinBoilard) November 23, 2019
The game was already out of reach at this point in the fourth for the Nittany Lions, who would've needed multiple scores in the final two minutes of action. Rather than pin Penn State back or simply add to their deficit, Day tried to end the game of his own terms. It backfired.
Thankfully, Fields got up on his own after the tackle and walked off without assistance.
Justin Fields got off the field on his own strength after awkward tackle ? pic.twitter.com/CeFKoFjhCj
— Bleacher Report CFB (@BR_CFB) November 23, 2019
Fields never should've been in that position in the first place. Day deserves all the blame for this, especially after what happened to Tua Tagovailoa just last week. While these situations aren't perfectly correlated, Tagovailoa's injury had a tremendous impact on Alabama's CFP chances. Were Fields to go down because of a reckless play call, it would have the same impact on Ohio State, if not greater.
Tua started the game 9 for 9 passing for 193 yards and 2 touchdowns.
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) November 16, 2019
Then, up 35-7, Alabama kept passing and he suffered what appears to be another serious injury.pic.twitter.com/kUwukyIw7x
Day should be very thankful nothing too serious happened to Fields, and learn from this egregious mistake going forward.