GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Ryan Day emerged from the losing locker room as a head coach for the first time and hugged his kids. It’s what a disappointed dad does. Then Ryan Day went to the postgame interview and spoke his mind. It’s what an angry coach does.

“Certainly feeling a range of emotions right now," Day said. “Proud, sad, and certainly angry.”

Angry. That’s not the predominant emotion after every defeat, but when those who play for and coach for and root for and bleed for Ohio State look back on this 29-23 loss to Clemson in the 2019 Fiesta Bowl in a College Football Playoff semifinal, the anger may never fade.

Because the Buckeyes think they played well enough to win.

“I do, I do,” Day said. “It wasn’t good enough in the end. We were right there. It wasn’t like our guys didn’t play hard or our guys didn’t execute well or we didn’t make big plays. We did all of those things and we just came up short in the end. We were right there all the way to the end. That’s the way it goes.”

And the Buckeyes believe things out of their control changed the game, specifically a targeting call on Shaun Wade that gave Clemson a first down after a third-down sack, and a fumble that Ohio State returned for a touchdown that was ruled an incompletion.

Shock, the sports grief of a season ending, the hollow ache of missed opportunities, all of that was in there as well. But never without anger. Never without the sense that something had been taken from them.

“Just a lot of tears. A lot of disappointment. A lot of people angry in that locker room right now,” Day said. “There’s a lot of throwing helmets. A lot of just ‘Can’t believe it’s over.’ So what do you say to a bunch of guys like that, other than you love them?”

You say you’re angry with them. There’s a specificity to Ohio State’s anger. The Buckeyes aren’t viewing this as the bang-bang nature of the game, the split-second decisions foisted upon humans in stripes who in their instantaneous assessments determine the futures and legacies of players and programs.

Ohio State is mad because the officials looked at three big plays and changed their minds. And all three went against Ohio State.

One, a touchdown catch by J.K. Dobbins that was reviewed and ruled an incompletion, was inarguably correct. The ball hit the ground. Incomplete. A touchdown was wiped out and Ohio State settled for a field goal.

But the other two, that birthed the anger.

No penalty was originally called on Wade, who blitzed and sacked Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who bent slightly to brace for the hit, as Wade’s helmet collided with Lawrence’s helmet. No call originally, then a targeting 15-yarder and ejection for Wade after review. On the other play, it originally was ruled that Clemson’s Justyn Ross caught a pass and Jeff Okudah forced a fumble that Jordan Fuller picked up and returned for a score. On a review, it was deemed an incomplete pass.

If it felt to Miami fans that Terry Porter took an eternity to throw his flag on the game-saving end zone penalty on the Hurricanes in 2002 that allowed Ohio State stay alive and eventually win the national title in the Fiesta Bowl, this was an eternity. Miami and Ohio State didn’t have video replay then to make a final determination. College football added that in 2006.

This time, the Buckeyes waited, believing they’d taken a 23-21 lead on the turnover score by Fuller. When the call was changed, Day’s hands went to his head in disbelief. That act of commission -- taking what had been called, looking at it and deciding to change it three times, two of them questionably -- that’s what got Ohio State. This wasn’t instantaneous. This was slow and painful.

“I know there were some plays that were called on the field and then overturned, and when they overturn it, there has to be indisputable evidence,” Day said. “If that’s what they deemed it was, it’s going to be something we’ll have to take a look at. ... Not crying about it. But at the same time, those were big plays that didn’t go our way. And certainly again, a range of emotions about that.”

A range, but one emotion more than others. Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith shared with several media members how angry he was about the calls. When I texted him that anger would be the overriding feeling for Ohio State from this game, he responded, “Agree."

There will be anger directed elsewhere. At three field goals in the first half when Clemson kept Ohio State from the end zone on three red-zone trips. At a Day decision to go for a punt block in the second half, which led to a roughing call that kept alive a Clemson drive that produced the Tigers’ go-ahead touchdown. At the fates that added a tweaked ankle for running back J.K. Dobbins to the knee issues of quarterback Justin Fields.

Play this game healthy Buckeyes vs. healthy Tigers and Ohio State might win seven of 10 times. Play it just as it was Saturday, and Ohio State still wins at least half the time, if not more. The Buckeyes took on the defending national champs and looked like the better team. When you do that and lose, you’re frustrated. When you do that and feel like it was taken away, you’re angry.

Day tried to prevent himself from saying too much, but he said a lot. Smith wasn’t afraid to let it rip. Some may find this anger to be a bad look for the Buckeyes. Some may find it understandable. Some might assess it one way, review it, and change their mind.

I asked Day if he felt the Buckeyes should have won, before I asked if he thought they played well enough to win.

Should have won? He dodged it. But he also said it all, by saying he word.

“I don’t want to answer that,” he said. “That’s hard for me to answer. Again, I’m too close to the game right now. Proud, sad, but angry, too.”

Calls go against teams. Champs like Clemson find ways to win. Complaining about the officials is one of the least enjoyable things about sports, and it often reeks of being a sore loser. Ohio State has benefited from calls that went its way in big games in the past.

That doesn’t change Saturday. The Buckeyes won’t ever forget this game, not when it ended the season of the best OSU team some fans had ever seen. With the memory will come that feeling. Ohio State football unites people in many ways. With this 29-23 loss, anger will serve as a bond.

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