Don’t get this confused. Ohio State should beat Notre Dame. The Buckeyes should whip the Irish, from a talent standpoint.
To call Notre Dame the worst nightmare for Ryan Day isn’t because the Irish is some fantastic juggernaut that will roll into the College Football Playoffs championship and put an unmerciful whipping on the Buckeyes.
The problem for Day is the Buckeyes are a gigantic 9.5-point favorite against the Irish. Simply put, the only chance for Day to walk out of Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta with increased job security is to win.
There are no excuses that will work for Ryan Day
The reason Notre Dame provides a nightmare is because the Irish boasts one of the toughest teams in college football. Notre Dame is more determined than talented. That’s why the Irish found a way to get past Penn State. That’s the reason Notre Dame got past Georgia.
And that’s the reason Day and the Buckeyes can’t take anything for granted.
Let’s be clear. Day will say all of the right things. He will make Notre Dame look like it’s trotting out the Four Horsemen again. But it won’t matter. The Buckeyes are a heavy favorite and anybody watching this year’s playoffs can see it.
Ohio State is faster, stronger, and more talented than Notre Dame. However, the Irish seem to have more determination than any team in college football. Notre Dame keeps plugging away and finding a way to end up on the right end of the scoreboard in these playoffs.
There is good news for Ryan Day
Ohio State doesn’t have to win by 10 points. They don’t have to run the Irish out of the stadium. But they do have to win, even if it’s on a two-point conversion stop in overtime.
It won’t matter if the Buckeyes jump out to a 14-0 lead, or blow all of a 17-point second-half lead. They could fall behind and come back. All that matters for Ryan Day and his future at Ohio State is to get this W.
It shouldn’t be this way.
Let’s take a snapshot of the Ohio State head coach’s accomplishments. Day went 3-0 in 2018, following with records of 13-1, 7-1, 11-2, 11-2, 11-2, and he’s 13-2 this season. In 2020, he lost to Alabama in the National Championship game. His career record of 69-10 speaks for itself.
But to silence the critics and make Buckeyes fans forget his 1-4 mark against Michigan, Ryan Day has to be on the big stage with the confetti falling after this game.
For now, Day is trying hard to turn the Michigan loss into a positive. He said that game provided the players with a chance to bounce back, according to kron4.com via WBNS 10 TV’s YouTube page.
“I think when you look at the guys that we have in our program, you see guys that are tough,” Day said. “You see guys (who) are resilient. You see guys who care about each other. You see guys that love being Buckeyes.
“The story of this team is yet to be told. No great accomplishments are ever achieved without going through adversity. That’s just the truth. And so we’ve gone through our share of adversity. That’s life. I told those guys that. We’re not focused on what’s coming down the road, we’re not focused on what’s happened in the past. We’re focused on right now, and being right where we are. And at the end, we want to be able to tell the story of this team.”
Will it be a happy ending for the Buckeyes in 2024? Just don’t count on cooperation from the Irish. Notre Dame won’t roll over.
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