“Fourth time’s the charm, right?”, thought every Ohio State football fan before the Nov. 30, game against unranked Michigan, a game that should have been an easy blowout over their rivals for the number two ranked Buckeyes.
Sadly enough, the Ohio State Buckeyes lost that game in what was one of the worst games played by a ranked team ever, losing to their rivals by three on their home field.
After this game, fans questioned whether the Buckeyes should keep Ryan Day as their head coach. It is truly disappointing to have a 1-4 record against your rivals but able to go 67-6 versus all other teams including a 12-8 total record against top 10 ranked teams.
Day took over the reins in 2019 and started off strong, leading the Buckeyes to an undefeated season and a Big 10 championship. He also led them to the College Football Playoffs (CFP) where he lost to Clemson. The next season was better, where, with the Covid-shortened season, he was able to take the Buckeyes to the National Championship, which they lost to Alabama. 2021, brought Day his first loss to Michigan and a season-ending in no playoffs but a nice bowl game victory. Day once again lost to Michigan in 2022, but still had a chance to play in the CFP in a thriller vs Georgia that ended in an Ohio State missed game-winning field goal. 2023 was disappointing as Day lost to Michigan, didn’t make the playoffs, and lost their bowl game, a time when everyone wanted the man out as head coach.
2024 has become Day’s legacy season as he needed to do something great for the fans in Ohio to be able to maintain his job and reputation. Every possible senior on the team surpassed the NFL draft and stayed for one last year as well as adding transfers such as safety Caleb Downs and quarterback Will Howard. They also had incoming five-star talent in freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith. Everything was set in stone and waiting for Day to make the difference.
The Buckeyes had a solid start until a loss to number three-ranked Oregon by a margin of one point. But they rolled on from that until the Michigan game where Day lost for the 4th time in a row.
At that point, fans were truly fed up with their head coach. His only saving grace was the new 12 team College Football Playoff. Day’s Buckeyes were still able to make it in at the eighth spot, set to play Tennessee. The rest is history. Day blew out number nine-ranked Tennessee, 42-17 and moved on to play number one-ranked Oregon where they won 42-21 in a stunner. Now they face number five ranked Texas in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 10, 2025 for a chance to be in the National Championship.
The real accolades for this playoff run go to Day. The ability to rally your team back from what was a demoralizing loss to an unranked Michigan team, to blowout two top 10 teams in the playoff is phenomenal. Without even winning this year’s National Championship Day truly deserves to come back as head coach in the 2025 season. The National Championship would just be a cherry on top of what he has done in his career.