It's safe to say that Ryan Day is the first coach in college football history to post a 61-8 record, and he still has something to prove. And not just on a national scale, but also through its own intense and sometimes desperate fan base.
It's never easy to succeed a great legend, and that suits Urban Meyer just fine. So Day knew the challenges that came with the upside of getting the keys to the Buckeyes Lamborghini.
He was ridiculed for being born at third base when his first coaching job was at Ohio State, but he is a former New Hampshire quarterback who overcame his father's suicide at age 9 to rise to the top.
Six seasons of “Day, 45” were successful. Well, except for the part where some point to those eight losses more than those 61 wins.
The day is 1-6 against teams in the top five of the College Football Playoff rankings. His overall record against Michigan is 1-3, including losses in each of the last three years. He is 1-3 in the College Football Playoff.
Ohio State is known for beating weaker opponents. Day has never lost to an unranked team and is undefeated against any Big Ten team not based in Ann Arbor. This is nothing.
He may even beat a highly ranked team from time to time, but the joy doesn't seem to last forever. In 2020, he beat Clemson in the College Football Playoff… only to be defeated by Alabama in the title game.
Last season, he won a late game at Notre Dame, which was ranked No. 9 at the time, but it didn't impress anyone much because the Irish rarely win big games, either, and Day spent the postgame seemingly challenging Lou Holtz to a fight.
And so, even though Ohio State (5-0) defeated Akron, Western Michigan, Marshall, Michigan State and Iowa by a score of 230-34, doubts remain both in Columbus and across the country.
Sure, Buckeyes may be bullies, but can they bully a bully? Will this team be able to win it all?
No. 3 Oregon faces a seemingly fair fight for the Bucks on Saturday in Eugene. This will count in the race for the Big Ten title, playoff berth and playoff seeding. He will also be counting on Ryan Day's reputation both near and far.
“There's a lot at stake this weekend, and that's exactly what we want,” Day said.
Nothing will be decided on Saturday, but you can watch and wonder. If not this year, then when? If not with this team, why not?
The Buckeyes are always talented, and Day has proven to be an elite recruiter by any stretch of the imagination, especially nationally like Meyer. While the lineup always looks good, there's something different this year.
Over the summer, Meyer declared that this “might be the best lineup in college football in the last decade.” While this was a bold statement, nothing that has been shown so far suggests that Meyer is wrong.
Ohio State followed Michigan's playbook this year by using NIL money to encourage NFL-caliber players to skip the draft and return to campus to fight for a national title.
That meant players like linebacker TreVeyon Henderson, linebacker Denzel Burke, wide receiver Emeka Egbuka and defensive linemen JT Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer all returned from a regular-season team that went 11-1.
Day then entered the transfer portal to add quarterback Will Howard (Kansas State) and more quarterback in Quinshon Judkins (Ole Miss).
The Buckeyes' two best players are actually freshmen – backup Caleb Downs, who came over from Alabama after Nick Saban retired, and true freshman wing Jeremiah Smith, with whom Ohio State beat Miami and Florida State last February.
This is a breathtaking collection. Anything can happen at Autzen Stadium, but one of those “everything” is a show of strength that has the rest of the country wondering if they can beat Ohio State. The Buckeyes are 3.5-point favorites.
So Day heads into another big match with a boost of confidence. He likes to say it's about Ohio State, not who Ohio State is playing. Internally, he's probably right. However, externally?
“I think you always try to identify the pieces that fit the team,” Day said. “You know, all of a sudden you don't change just because it's a big game of quote and unquote. They are all big.
“If we say it's all about us, then it's about us in games like this and it is. So we will continue with the same routine.”
Ryan Day did a great job at Ohio State, but for some it wasn't enough. On Saturday, he'll be well on his way to proving he's capable of reaching that ultimate level.
He certainly has the team that can get there.
