CNN
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Ryan Day aims to make sure his Ohio State Buckeyes leave no doubt.
After a complete team performance that helped the Bucks win their first national championship in 10 years, Day should have put any doubt about his tenure in Columbus to rest in the minds of the Buckeye faithful.
Ohio State fans are among the toughest and most critical in college football — indeed, some will come away from that 34-23 victory over Notre Dame, which won the school’s ninth national title, unhappy that it wouldn’t be an even bigger victory – and Day has been the object of their ire all season. Even though the Buckeyes blew out team after team for much of the season, a one-point loss to Oregon stuck in their collective throat.
And then came the listless loss to Michigan. Boos rained down on Day and his team from their home fans as they failed to do anything on offense for much of the game and the truly mediocre Wolverines earned their fourth victory consecutive against their main rivals.
It all seems like a distant memory now. Day delivered on the promise his team made for most of this season and the talented Buckeyes are now national champions.
“They are my motivation – my family at home, my wife and my children, and then these guys. That’s why I get up every day to help these guys reach their dreams and their goals,” Day said after the game. “That’s all it comes down to, and then it just shows an example: When things get tough in life, keep swinging as hard as you can and keep fighting. It’s our culture.
Day started this postseason, potentially coaching for his work in the Tennessee game. It’s hard to overstate how depressed Buckeye fans were after their loss to the Wolverines on Nov. 30 and the ugly scenes that followed that game when Michigan attempted to plant a flag at midfield at Buckeye Stadium. ‘Ohio.
Volunteer fans flooded the Horseshoe for the first-round game, with some estimates saying the crowd was 40 percent Tennessee fans. ESPN commentator and Buckeye alumnus Kirk Herbstreit said on that show that he’s never seen anything like it. Pundits predicted that if Ohio State lost to the Vols, Day could find himself unemployed despite an incredible start to his head coaching career in Columbus.
After a quarter of the game against Tennessee, Day was no longer in the hot seat. Three first-quarter touchdowns set the tone for the rest of the Buckeye playoff run, a massive lead en route to a total blowout of the Volunteers.
At the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day, it was much the same, if not worse. At halftime, Ohio State led 34-8 and the undefeated top-seeded Ducks looked like they didn’t belong on the same field as the Buckeyes.
Texas mounted a bigger challenge, keeping the game close until the final minutes when senior Jack Sawyer stripped UT quarterback Quinn Ewers of the ball and separated himself from his former roommate and the rest of the Longhorns for a touchdown that iced the game.
Putting the loss to Michigan behind them wasn’t an easy task, Day said after the win over Tennessee, but it was necessary for the Buckeyes to get back on track toward the season’s ultimate goal: a national title. .
“I’ve said it before, nothing that’s happened before will have any effect on what happens other than learning from our experiences,” Day told reporters. “The first week was an identification of the issues. You don’t just quit the game. You have to identify the problems and have real conversations with the players, allowing them to express themselves because they are invested in it. And then the coaches have their two cents.
He added: “To say it doesn’t weigh on you, it’s true. We are very proud of who we are. These guys have a lot of pride.
Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, who has known Day most of his life, said it was clear the pressure was on the head coach. But, Kelly said, it wasn’t something the 45-year-old couldn’t handle.
“I told him a long time ago that he was built for this. And he understands it. He understands the gravity of his position. He understands how everyone feels about Buckeye football and rightfully so,” Kelly said after that Tennessee win. “He feels exactly the same way. I don’t think anyone took the loss to The Team Up North harder than him. That’s the kind of person he is.
“But he must also lead from the front. It wasn’t “Have pity on me” and “Hey, is everyone going to pick me up and make me feel better?” It’s, “No, we need to approach this the right way, look what we did on film.” “We need to figure out how to fix this.
There were echoes of that loss to Michigan in the final minutes of the Notre Dame game. Kelly went conservative again with his play calling. The Irish showed why “fight” is part of their school mascot, coming back from a 31-7 deficit to come within a touchdown and a conversion of two points.
For the first time since the first quarter, the Buckeyes faced pressure – real pressure. The game remained very conservative, with Howard taking on a few quarterbacks and Notre Dame stopping the clock with their timeouts. But Day and Kelly flipped the script at the last second.
Howard threw a long pass on an entry route along the right sideline to freshman Jeremiah Smith, who jumped and recovered the 57-yard catch to put the Buckeyes in Notre’s red zone. -Lady two minutes from the end. From there, it was a Jayden Fielder basket to seal it and Day won his first national championship.
With all the pressure put on him and all the criticism that made its way into this program just under two months ago, it was obvious how much the win meant to Day. As time expired, he ran down the sideline and ripped off his helmet, throwing it behind him somewhere deep on the Buckeye sideline — if not into the stands. He reveled in the Gatorade bath, a dark green liquid splashing around him as he celebrated with his team.
“The story needs to be told now. And it’s a beautiful story. This is a group of guys who overcame some really tough situations and there was a point where a lot of people shut us out,” Day said.
“We just kept swinging and fighting. This is why you are getting into coaching. It’s about seeing guys overcome things. Learn life lessons and then make their dreams come true. This is what happened tonight.
