How hard is it to be Ryan Day?
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 12-2 this season. In 2020, he lost to Alabama in the National Championship game.
Day ended the 2024 regular season with a record of 66-10 as a college football head coach. But for what seemed like the vast majority of Ohio State fans, his mark of 1-4 against Michigan trumped every one of those 65 other victories. The Buckeyes “faithful” wanted him out.
“Why isn’t he fired yet,” a fan screamed at Internet decibels.
And that may have been the most tame one.
What have you done for me lately, Ryan Day?
It mattered not what Day accomplished outside of the Michigan losses. The good news for Day is he didn’t back down, according to toledoblade.com.
“I don’t like to go back, but you learn a lot about yourself when you go through tough times,” Day said. “The message to our players was that in life things aren’t always going to go the way you want them to. Sometimes they come at you when you least expect it, but it’s about how you respond that you’re ultimately defined.”
So Day convinced his players. And — for him or for themselves — they responded.
Ohio State absolutely knocked mighty SEC power Tennessee for a loop. Good for you, Ryan Day. You would have been fired seconds after losing to the Volunteers. Right?
And then, the Buckeyes walked all over Oregon like a hike in the woods. Good for you, Ryan Day. And now the Ohio State “faithful” seems settled. That’s pretty good, Ryan Day. “We’re proud of you. And we’re sorry about all that mess before.”
And it’s all love and roses. Right?
But what if Ohio State loses to Texas? Then we’re back to the fire-Day mindset for a majority — although maybe not as large as before. Truth be told, the only way Ryan Day clears his name is to win the Natty. Now that’s truly right.
His team could blast Texas out of the stadium. Ohio State could win by three touchdowns. And Buckeyes fans would celebrate their berth in the national championship game. But there’s a problem.
Ohio State would become such a prohibitive favorite in the title game against either Penn State or Notre Dame that a loss would sting Buckeyes fans at a Michigan level. And the calls for his dismissal would resume. “Get someone who can win the big game,” they would surely say.
Sure, he just did that for three straight games. Tennessee, Oregon. Texas. All pushed aside like annoyances.
The truth of the matter is Ryan Day must finish the 2024 season with a record of 70-10, or he won’t be accepted by the Ohio State “faithful.”
Do you think that’s the whole story?
It gets worse. Day could run his record to 81-10 and lose to Michigan for the fifth straight year. And for many Ohio State fans, we’d be back to that same old story. Can’t beat Michigan. Fire him.
And how would Ryan Day solve that issue. He’d have to win the Natty again in 2025. Yep.
Now, Ohio State fans aren’t the worst in college football. That probably goes to Alabama in the post-Nick Saban era.
The fun thing is we will get to see how this plays out. Ohio State has a great chance to take care of business against Texas. And the Buckeyes will defeat whoever survives the Penn State-Notre Dame game. Ryan Day will get a chance to prove his naysayers wrong. At least for a few months, he will have peace.
But Michigan’s coming again. And the Buckeyes’ wolves are ready for a full-throat howl.
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