Planning for a national championship in the offseason was the easy part.
Predicting the actual journey this team and Ryan Day had to go through to win Ohio State’s first national championship trophy since 2014? Hollywood screenwriters would have ridiculed you for being too dramatic.
Nevertheless, the dream that went from being achievable in the eyes of respected analysts in April to being a daydream in the eyes of these same experts after November 30 came true on Monday. Ohio State beat Notre Dame 34–23 in Atlanta, completing a monster challenge in the first 12-team College Football Playoff and beating its fourth straight opponent by double digits.
When OSU’s oft-discussed $20 million NIL roster was put together in January, the Buckeyes were either called the most talented team in the country or just behind the Georgia Bulldogs, whichever you choose. That $20 million figure was often the talking point of most preseason articles, even though they often failed to emphasize context. Of course, Caleb Downs, Quinshon Judkins, Will Howard and the other transfer players were more than fairly compensated. But most of that NIL fund went toward compelling fundamentals already on the roster to delay their NFL dreams and reload the clip for one last run at a national title.
Based on the pieces returning to Columbus and the top-tier talent OSU added from the transfer portal, an undefeated regular season seemed not only attainable but almost expected. At the center of it all was Day, under a giant microscope before the season even started. It was the best list of his tenure at Ohio State. He received the full support of the administration and donors. If he couldn’t win a title now, when could he?
Of course, just like life, the season doesn’t always turn out the way you imagine.
The Buckeyes’ defense was humiliated on October 12 in Eugene as the Ducks shredded OSU’s defense for 32 points, the most they allowed all season, leading to schematic changes after a loss by one point. Two weeks later, a Nebraska team that had barely reached bowl eligibility had Ohio Stadium on the edge of its seat late in the fourth quarter. In Happy Valley, Penn State was a yard away from tying the Buckeyes in the final minutes of the contest until Big Game James became a complete Big Game James. Two talented offensive linemen who will hear their names called in this spring’s NFL Draft suffered season-ending injuries, leading the Buckeyes to test their depth in what is considered their most competitive position group. thinnest on the list.
And sure enough, the unthinkable happened in Columbus on November 30th. One of the worst Michigan teams in recent memory came into Ohio Stadium and won a rock fight, 13-10. It was the fourth straight loss to the Wolverines and by far the most humiliating.
In the week leading up to that ill-fated game, Day publicly admitted that the only thing he endured in his life that was harder than losing to Michigan was the tragic death of his father. This shows how intense this rivalry is and how the agony of defeat has taken a toll on Day and his family.
Then a few days later, he coaches the worst match of his life and relives this nightmare. He saw his children sobbing on the sidelines. He stood frozen as much of his team ran to defend the 50-yard line after Michigan players planted their flag.
His job was suddenly called into question, with Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork having to issue not one but two votes of confidence the day before OSU’s first College Football Playoff game. If this season had been played a year earlier in the four-team playoff format instead of the 12-team expansion, who knows what the future of OSU football would look like right now.
Instead, he and his players were given a chance to redeem themselves. And it turned into a fairy tale.
It started with an emotional team meeting a few days after Michigan’s loss, in which he took responsibility for the loss and admitted to his team that he had let them down. He listened to his players’ concerns. It was an emotional and heartfelt meeting, with no shots fired, but it was also the start of a team coming together to realize its full potential.
“Our team has come together so well over the last month and a half,” Day said after the game. “There was no school, so all we did was hang out together. It’s like being surrounded by family. It’s the tightest group of guys I’ve ever had. never been around.”
With three weeks of preparation, the Buckeyes crushed Tennessee in the first round of the College Football Playoff. Even more surprising, Ohio State not only avenged its loss to Oregon earlier in the season, but also humiliated the Ducks in the Rose Bowl. Jack Sawyer forever cemented his Buckeye legacy by finishing a goal-line drive against Texas in the semifinals with a scoop and a score. The Hollywood finale ended Monday with Ohio State’s victory over Notre Dame.
Would it have been okay if the season went the path of least resistance and OSU went 16-0 with a title? Of course.
But in some ways, the story of the 2024 season is more relevant to all of us than an undefeated juggernaut’s run would be. We just saw a team and a coach face their worst moment with humility and rise from the ashes of their darkest hour to live the dream of their life before the eyes of the whole world. Perhaps some detractors would point out that this Ohio State team is the only team of the other eight in program history to win national championships and lose twice in one season. I would say they are the only team in college football history to have five top-five wins in a single season, and the only team to ever face a challenge like this to win a title .
“They’re going to go down in Ohio State history as one of the greatest teams to ever play Ohio State,” Day said of his team. “After everything that has been said throughout the year, these guys are going to go down as one of the best stories in Ohio State history and one of the best football teams of all time .”
When Day hoisted the trophy after the victory, pure jubilation took over. He probably hadn’t thought about it at the time, but he had just joined his predecessors Urban Meyer and Jim Tressel, both of whom cast a very long shadow to follow, as coaches who had led Ohio State to a national title.
Who knows where Day’s Ohio State career goes from here. Maybe he’ll get an opportunity in the NFL at some point, maybe he’ll stay in Columbus for 20 more years and win a handful more championships.
But no matter what happens, when the final chapter of his tenure at OSU is written, his legacy will now begin with stories of that resilient championship run and the seniors who helped him accomplish it.
Day always stresses to his team to leave no doubt. Now, there’s no doubt that the Buckeyes have reached the top of the college football world, and it’s a story that won’t soon be forgotten.
