Oller: Ohio State loss a referendum on Ryan Day, who has lost three straight to Wolverines
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Depending how much stock you put in the reports, Ryan Day is in hot demand out there. How much of that demand is coming from his own fan base is debatable.
Because …
2023: Michigan 30, Ohio State 24
2022: Michigan 45, Ohio State 23
2021: Michigan 42, Ohio State 27
Not good. But how bad?
Perhaps not bad enough to deter Texas A&M from pursuing Ohio State’s 44-year-old coach? The Aggies need a coach and reportedly might be interested in luring Day from Columbus. Is the report pure speculation? The usual coaching scuttlebutt? An agent floating the “rumor” as some type of leverage for his client? Anything is possible, especially when A&M has pockets deeper than the oil wells that supply that money. Hey, a man has to feed his family. And with $75 million, which is what Jimbo Fisher’s 10-year contract was worth when A&M fired him last week, well, a coach can feed his family for generations.
But let’s not get ahead of things.
Important No. 1 : No one is suggesting Day is interested in leaving Ohio State.
Important No. 2: Ohio State is not getting rid of Day sooner than later. Not even close. If you think athletic director Gene Smith is pulling the plug on a coach he hired, one who is 56-7 overall, you don’t know how these things work. Smith retires on June 30, 2024. He’s leaving future hiring decisions to his successor.
If it was my decision, I would keep Day, not only because he recruits top-level quarterbacks but I’m not sure how much better Ohio State could do than to keep moving forward with a guy who is 39-3 in the Big Ten and 40-0 against unranked teams. Day does not lose the little games.
On the other hand … Michigan 30, Ohio State 24.
Day continues to struggle winning the big games. And Saturday in the Big House may have been the biggest.
Even Smith knows an Ohio State coach has to beat the Wolverines, and Day is 1-3 against them, including three consecutive losses. From that standpoint, a referendum played out in the Big House as the Buckeyes lined up on their final drive at their 19-yard line, trailing 30-24 with one minute to play.
On the line was Day’s legacy in The (Rivalry?) Game. There was his sterling reputation as a quarterback whisperer nearly unmatched in his ability to develop QBs into future NFL first-round draft picks. There was quarterback Kyle McCord, who had a chance to quiet critics by leading a game-winning drive. Instead, he threw a comeback-crushing interception. And depending how things ended, there was either a confirmation or repudiation of Jim Knowles’ revamped defense. Answer: when OSU most needed to stop Michigan offense, the defense could not get off the field. The Wolverines turned to power football and chewed seven minutes off the clock, concluding their series with a field goal that meant the Buckeyes needed a touchdown to win.
It was heavy stuff for Ohio State to stomach, and Day felt the weight afterward.
“Hard to describe,” he said. “You work this game all year and we came up short.”
Unfortunately, for many Ohio State fans “just short” might as well be the distance between New Hampshire and Hawaii. In a results business, the results have seen the Buckeyes go belly up against UM three straight seasons.
It gets worse, at least for Day, who was in a precarious spot entering the 119th meeting between the Maize and Blue and Bloodied and Gray. If he won, the stench of 0-3 would have washed away, especially since OSU fans would have forgiven the 2021 and 2022 losses as due to Michigan sign-stealing, i.e. cheating.
But a loss? Well, now the narrative goes all-in on Michigan having Day’s number. Not only that, but he got outcoached by an interim (Sherrone Moore) who was filling in for suspended Jim Harbaugh? Are you kidding me?
Maybe most painful for those who support Day, he is being linked to John Cooper, whose OSU legacy is as a successful coach who wasn’t successful enough, because he went 2-10-1 against Michigan.
Social media melted down with Day-Cooper comparisons, with “John Day” and “Ryan Cooper” references dotting the online landscape.
Sure, Ohio State fans are spoiled, but they have a right to be unhappy about losing to TTUN. They have a right to wonder what is wrong with Day’s game strategy against Michigan. Too aggressive one minute, not aggressive enough the next. (See choosing to attempt a 52-yard field goal instead of try for a first down on fourth-and-2 at the end of the first half).
Do they have a right to demand Day leave town? I say no, but at some point this worm needs to turn. Sooner the better.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Rob Oller: Ohio State loss to Michigan a referendum on Ryan Day
