ATLANTA -- As Monday night hurtled toward Tuesday morning, Ryan Day hustled into the head coach enclave in the Ohio State locker room at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Day opened his office fridge, cracked a 16-ounce Garage beer, poured it into a to-go cup festooned with smiling Buckeyes faces and bounded toward the team bus.
The players had long cleared out, and all that remained was the tornado of ankle tape, shoulder pads and discarded cleats. Giddy Buckeyes managers blasted "Chicken Fried," and the distinct difference from the normal carnage of an empty locker room was the thick layer of smoke.