College football legend Nick Saban went off on Ohio State football fans for how they view their rivalry with Michigan. “The Game” is annually the most heated football clash of the year between these two historic rivals. The Buckeyes' stinging loss to the Wolverines is still ringing in the background as they focus on the Rose Bowl matchup against No. 1 Oregon. The winner of this affair will likely be the prohibitive favorite to win the national title.

However, unless Ohio State lifts the trophy on January 20, the sting of the Michigan loss will likely not go away. And, for some fans, even with a national title, Ryan Day's only path to redemption would be winning “The Game” next year. In an interview on The Pat McAfee Show, Nick Saban went off on OSU fans for their overall lack of enthusiasm due to the loss on November 30.

“These Ohio State fans, you know they've got a psychotic obsession with Michigan, and they need to go get therapy to try to get it fixed because they have a chance to win the national championship, and here you are, nobody's excited about their opportunity to play because they lost to Michigan. I think this is probably the most talented team if they play to the standard and the level. Offense, defense, they've pretty much got it all.”

The legacy of this Ohio State team will be decided in the next few weeks

Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day watches from the sideline during the first half of the College Football Playoff first round game against the Tennessee Volunteers at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Dec. 21, 2024.
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Nick Saban is right that fans should primarily focus on the Buckeyes' game against the No. 1 Ducks. If Ohio State football wins its first national championship since 2014, Ryan Day's team should be seen as a success. However, the twelve-team College Football Playoff makes winning a title more challenging than ever. Despite blowing out No. 7 Tennessee, Ohio State's path is still a gauntlet.

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The Buckeyes will have to beat No. 1 Oregon, then likely No. 3 Texas, and then possibly No. 2 Georgia to win it all. Any coach who can navigate that path deserves praise. Should the Buckeyes lose, however, the specter of the Michigan loss will continue to loom.

One reason OSU fans are reacting so passionately to this year's result is that the Buckeyes have largely dominated this rivalry this century. Ohio State has been 17-7 in “The Game” since 2000, and four of those seven losses have come under Ryan Day.

The program is consequently on a four-game losing streak against Michigan, with the most recent defeat indicating that OSU has a mental block in this matchup. Because the unranked Wolverines' upset of the No. 2 Buckeyes was, without a doubt, this regular season's most shocking result.

Overall, Nick Saban is right. The Buckeyes still have their most important goal ahead of them. But it feels like a lot is riding on this College Football Playoff for Ryan Day and company, which is a shame cause Day has been an elite coach in Columbus overall.