Justin Fields transferred in from Georgia, won the starting job, and in his first year threw 41 touchdown passes. The Buckeyes ran the table through the regular season; the Fields-Chase Young combination was the best scheme-and-talent alignment in the Big Ten.
2019 — Fields's Breakthrough, Clemson's Reset
Ohio State went 13-1, won the Big Ten, reached a CFP semifinal, and lost to Clemson 29-23 — Justin Fields's first year, Day's second year, and the closest the program came to a title between 2014 and 2020.
The Shape — week-by-week · cumulative W–L below
Who carried it
- Justin FieldsQB3,273 passing yards
- J.K. DobbinsRB2,003 rushing yards
- Master TeagueRB789 rushing yards
- Marcus CrowleyRB237 rushing yards
- Chris OlaveWR849 receiving yards
- K.J. HillWR636 receiving yards
- Binjimen VictorWR573 receiving yards
- Malik HarrisonLB75 tackles
- Pete WernerLB64 tackles
- Jordan FullerS62 tackles
- Chase YoungDE16.5 sacks
- Davon HamiltonDT6 sacks
- Baron BrowningLB5 sacks
Season leaders, 2019.
Big Ten Championship, December 7. Ohio State 34, Wisconsin 21. The program's second Big Ten title in three years; the result that placed the Buckeyes at #2 in the final CFP ranking.
CFP Semifinal, Fiesta Bowl, December 28. Clemson 29, Ohio State 23. A targeting ejection of Shaun Wade in the second quarter; a Fields interception returned for the go-ahead score; the Buckeyes drove inside the Clemson 30 on the final possession and could not convert. The closest-loss CFP semifinal of the Day era.
"Targeting. That's what everyone remembers."
2019 is the chapter where the Day era's first genuine title-window closed one missed play short. Fields's transfer year, Chase Young's Heisman-finalist defensive season, and a roster that LSU (the eventual national champion) did not draw in the semifinal. Clemson's 2019 team is the one the Ohio State fanbase refers to as the one the program could have beaten — a counter-factual that stayed in the program's memory for five years until the 2024 title closed it. The Wade targeting call is still litigated in Columbus; the rest of the season is the argument that the Day scheme's ceiling was always title-caliber, even before the 2024 roster proved it.