It’s not that big of a secret that Ohio State’s head coach, Ryan Day, is heading into a significant season. If things don’t go well, like beating Michigan and getting close to winning a National Championship, and when I say close, he will have to be coaching in the title game, he could be looking for a new job if he fails to reach both goals.
Ryan Day is heading into his sixth season as the Buckeyes’ head coach, and many Ohio State fans don’t know how to feel about him. In the five years he has walked the sidelines in Columbus, he has made three college football playoffs and one title game but has only been able to beat his biggest rival, Michigan, once and lost to them three times.
Ohio State has to find a way to beat Michigan this season, and they have no excuse not to. The Wolverines lost most players to the NFL, including their starting quarterback, J.J. McCarthy, and even head coach Jim Harbaugh. Michigan still has some great players, but they will not be the same team they have been in the last three years. The Buckeyes will probably have the best version of their team this season they have had in a while.
Ryan Day is also making new friends in the Big Ten this season in Oregon, UCLA, USC, and Washington. One of those teams to watch is Oregon and its head coach, Dan Lanning. The Ducks are turning into a powerhouse, and they host Ohio State this season, so Day can’t let them knock off his squad and then take over the Big Ten.
Ryan Day Is Under The Most Pressure
Day has a lot of pressure on him this season, and Jesse Simonton from On3.com ranked Day as the number one coach on his Big Ten Coaching Pressure Rankings.
Simonton states Day is under extreme pressure, and this is what he has to say about the Buckeyes head coach.
Extreme? For a coach who’s 56-8? Yup. That’s the unique pressure cooker Day faces after losing to Michigan three times in a row and seeing their rival Team Up North win the championship in 2023.
Ohio State has pushed its chips all-in on this season, loading up on some of the top transfers in the portal and bringing back close to a dozen starters with NFL futures. If Day, who is stepping away from play-calling duties and is taking a more CEO approach to his role as head coach, can’t deliver a Big Ten title — and more — with this roster then he’ll face a fever-pitch of criticism and heat.
Lose to Michigan again and it could cost him his job — something that might seem impossible for a head coach with fewer than double-digit career defeats.
There were many great points made about Day being under a lot of pressure, and this is a Big Ten pressure list only, but he also might be under the most pressure among every coach in college football.
