Subscribe
Follow Us
On November 30th, Ohio State football head coach Ryan Day reached the low point of his career. He came into this past season facing a lot of pressure as the Buckeyes had lost three games in a row against rival Michigan. However, the Wolverines were in the midst of a down year this season as they came into their game against Ohio State with a 6-5 record. The Buckeyes were at home and favored by 20 points. Day had his first win against the Michigan football team since 2019 sitting on a silver platter. We all know what happened next.
As Ohio State and Michigan football players got into a heated battle at midfield because of a flag, Ryan Day stood frozen, watching the scuffle unfold. All of Ohio Stadium was frozen. Somehow, some way, the Wolverines went into Columbus and beat Ohio State 13-10.
Day had already faced a lot of backlash for his losses to Michigan, but this one was different. The past three teams that Ohio State lost to were all top-five teams. All of them won the Big Ten and made the College Football Playoff. Two of them came into The Game with an 11-0 record. The 2023 team won the national championship. The 2024 Wolverines were not the same, but they still beat Ohio State.
In any previous year, Ohio State's season would have been over. Much of the fan base turned against Day after the loss to Michigan and wanted him fired. He had to take security measures. His wife's phone number was somehow leaked, and she received horrifying text messages from fans about Day. In any previous year, the scrutiny would've continued into the offseason. Day would've been heavily criticized for 365 days until he got another chance against Michigan. This year was different, however.
Because of the new 12-team College Football Playoff, Ohio State still qualified for the field, and they got a second chance after the shocking loss to Michigan. The Buckeyes then rattled off four straight wins over Tennessee, Oregon, Texas and Notre Dame. It was an impressive run, and less than two months after much of the Ohio State fan base had lost all faith in Ryan Day, he won a national championship.
Before we go any farther, one thing needs to be made clear: The run that Ryan Day and the Ohio State football team went on to win it all was extremely impressive. The Buckeyes suffered arguably the most embarrassing loss in the history of the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry, and much of the country had written them off. Beating four of the best teams in college football in a row is never easy. With that being said, this national championship will ultimately be good for the Michigan football team.
Ryan Day at Ohio State is good for Michigan
Ryan Day went from needing security measures because of dissatisfaction from the fan base to a national championship and contract extension in a span of less than two months. Shortly after winning it all, Day signed an extension that will pay him $12.5 million annually over the next seven years. That's a win for Michigan.
Before Day became the head coach of the Buckeyes, Ohio State had dominated the rivalry with Michigan for nearly 20 years. In the 18 games before Day took over, Ohio State was 16-2 against the Wolverines. Everything changed right around the time that Day became the man in Columbus.
It's not like Day had to inherit a difficult situation. He took over a program that had consistently been one of the best teams in college football for 20+ years. In 14 of those previous 18 matchups with Michigan prior to Day becoming head coach, Ohio State was ranked inside the top-10. Day inherited a gold mine, and the rivalry almost instantly flipped.
Day won his first matchup against Michigan back in 2019, but that was the last time that the Buckeyes won the rivalry game. The Game was cancelled in 2020, and then the Wolverines earned their first win over Ohio State since 2011 in 2021. Ohio State was favored by 7.5 points in that game. The Buckeyes were favored by 7.5 points at home in 2022 as well, and they lost 45-23. Michigan won their third straight in the rivalry in 2023, and that was the one game that the Wolverines have been favored in during their current four-game win streak over their hated rival.
Prior to this season, Ryan Day had a lot of success outside of the Michigan rivalry and postseason. The Buckeyes dominated the rest of the Big Ten as Day did not lose any conference games to teams not named Michigan until losing to Oregon this year. However, the losses to Michigan almost always ruined every season goal.
For every Ohio State team, there are three goals: beat Michigan, win the Big Ten and win a national championship. In both 2021 and 2023, losing to Michigan ended everything. The Buckeyes still made the playoff in 2022, but they lost in the semifinals against Georgia. All of Day's success outside of the rivalry meant nothing, because he accomplished nothing.
If the College Football Playoff format stayed the same, that would've been the case this year as well. The expanded playoff gave Day another chance, and the national championship has now completely changed the way that Ohio State fans view their head coach. However, Day didn't actually change. He didn't do anything differently. He once again failed to win the biggest game of the regular season in a matchup that should've been a layup, and the Buckeyes were once again knocked out of Big Ten title contention with the loss to Michigan.
This exact situation could've played out in any other previous season. Ohio State has always been a top-12 team after losing to Michigan. It's not like Day finally found a way to beat the Wolverines, win the Big Ten and make the four-team playoff. He benefited from the expansion, and he took advantage of it.
Before Michigan got on top of the rivalry, the path to success went straight through The Game. There was no way around it. Jim Harbaugh had some great teams that lost to the Buckeyes, and that was the end for them. If the 12-team CFP had always been around, some of those Michigan teams would've made the playoff. That's not how it worked, though.
In the nine matchups between the Wolverines and Buckeyes during the four-team era, the winner of The Game either won the Big Ten, made the College Football Playoff, or accomplished both in eight out of those nine years. The loser of The Game did not accomplish either in eight out of those nine years. The road to success hinged on this rivalry for both teams before the playoff expanded. Harbaugh had to figure out the rivalry before he could win a national championship. Day did not.
Not only was this a classic disappointing regular season from Day, but it was actually his worst coaching job since taking over at Ohio State. There's no question about it; this year's Buckeyes squad was the most talented team in the country. However, it was just the second time that Day lost two regular season games in his career, and one of them came to a 6-5 team at home as 20-point favorites. He also lost two games in 2021, but the losses were against #12 Oregon at home and #5 Michigan on the road. The 2024 team was the most talented that Day has had, but it was his worst regular season yet. If the playoff didn't get expanded, this would've been Ryan Day's worst year at Ohio State by far.
Yes, Day got it together during the College Football Playoff, and again, it was an impressive run that he does deserve credit for. Winning a national championship is never easy. But are we going to pretend like it's that hard to win at Ohio State? The program always has loads of talent, and Day finds a way to do less with more. However, there will be instances like this year where less with more is still enough to win it all. With a roster as talented as this year's team, it can happen. It definitely makes it easier to watch for Michigan fans knowing that the Wolverines beat them, and we all know that the championship season would've been sweeter for the Buckeyes had they beaten their rival.
Ryan Day is going to continue to have talent. Ohio State never struggled getting it, and now they are one of the biggest NIL spenders in the sport. Getting talent will never be an issue. However, when it comes to actually coaching the game of football and getting the most out of that talent, Day isn't it. Getting the most out of the best roster in the country would've included beating your rival that is 6-5, and winning the conference as well.
Day is going to win at Ohio State. When you have that kind of talent coming in every year, it's hard not to. But with a better football coach, the Buckeyes would be able to beat Michigan, win the Big Ten and win national championships more consistently.
Again, Day and Ohio State deserve a lot of credit for their national championship run. The point of this is not to try to say that it was a fluke or that it wasn't a well-deserved championship. The Buckeyes were the best team in college football this year.
The moral of the story is that Ohio State is going to be good no matter who the head coach is. It's one of the best programs of all-time, it's in a state that is always loaded with high school talent, and the Buckeyes have better recruiting resources than almost any other program in college football. Ohio State is never going to fall off. However, if you're a Michigan fan, you want someone like Ryan Day coaching the Buckeyes. He's going to give the Wolverines the best chance to stay on top of this rivalry.
