Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day has received a lot of praise for helping his team win the national championship this past season. It was an impressive run that culminated with a win over Notre Dame in the national championship game. However, some fans have complained that he is not getting as much respect as previous first-time national championship-winning head coaches.
On Tuesday, On3 posted a YouTube video with CFB analyst J.D. PicKell citing recent Michigan losses as a reason why Ryan Day is not getting the respect some fans think he deserves (Timestamp 2:20).
“The reason why Ryan Day isn’t getting the respect as maybe a Kirby Smart got when he won his first national championship is Michigan,” PicKell said. “I know that is like vinegar of the ears right now to hear but it’s the case. Because when he got the keys to Ohio State, he inherited a spot from Urban Meyer where he had gone 7-0 against Michigan.”
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J.D. PicKell then spoke about the importance of Day ending the streak of losses against Michigan.
“You have to slay your dragon if you’re Ryan Day,” PicKell said. “His dragon right now is Michigan. You have to. The Michigan conversation for the folks in Columbus is like an infection. It’s irritating, it’s frustrating, and right now it’s not giving you the biggest problem.”
“You can live with it because you just won a national championship but if you don’t take care of that infection over the course of the next couple of years, it is going to be the end of you. It will be. It’s going to fester, it’s going to grow, and it’s going to get to the point where it is intolerable.”
Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes have lost four straight games to Michigan
Ohio State-Michigan is one of the biggest rivalries in college football. To some Buckeyes fans, winning that game is more important than the national championship. When Ryan Day took over for Urban Meyer before the 2019 season, Meyer had helped the Buckeyes win seven games in a row against the Wolverines.
Day’s tenure started off well in the rivalry, with the team continuing the streak in 2019 with a 56-27 win over Michigan. However, it has not gone well since then. The Buckeyes have lost the past four matchups between these two teams, including a shocking 13-10 loss this past season.
Fans will tolerate the losses when the team is winning national championships, but if Day cannot end the drought soon, they could turn against him, regardless of national success.