While fans might not have placed their trust in Ryan Day, the Ohio State head coach’s peers have always thought highly of him. College football analyst Josh Pate discussed what fellow coaches have said about the Buckeyes’ leader on Sunday.
Josh Pate Says Fellow Coaches Always Supported Ohio State’s Ryan Day
Before winning last season’s College Football Playoff national championship, many didn’t believe in Ohio State head coach Ryan Day. He’d tripped up in big games on multiple occasions, most glaringly four times in a row against Michigan, and it seemed he was wavering after a shocking upset home loss to the Wolverines to cap the regular season.
However, after that came a four-game surge that Columbus won’t soon forget. For some with their ears to the ground, Day defeating Notre Dame on the game’s grandest stage proved what they’d already known. CBS Sports’ Josh Pate discussed what the national crown has done for Day.
“I always noticed there was, like, a little detachment between how fans who were not Ohio State fans talked about Ryan Day versus how people in the industry, coaches talked about him,” Pate said Sunday on “Josh Pate’s College Football Show.” “Because I can’t tell you how many dozen times on this show … there were fans who were short-changing Ryan Day. The old ‘Born on third base thinking he hit a triple’ sort of thing — ‘Anyone could win if they were given those resources and that job.’ That permeated the college football sphere for quite a while.
“And so, while maybe fans would short-change him, any time we’d do that kind of segment, inevitably, I would get texts from coaches — in some cases in the Big Ten — who would say, ‘Anyone who questions that guy is crazy.'”
The Buckeyes’ national title journey was the stuff of legend. They became the first FBS school to down five top-5-ranked opponents in one season, including a revenge romp over Oregon in the CFP Rose Bowl quarterfinal. Day joined Paul Brown, Woody Hayes, Jim Tressel, and his predecessor, Urban Meyer, as Ohio State head coaches to win a national title. Only Meyer also had multiple seasons of at least 13 wins.
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Through seven go-rounds with the Buckeyes, Day has posted a 70-10 record, including a 24-9 mark against top-25 foes. He’ll enter the upcoming season having been able to sigh a breath of relief. Now, he’ll chase a second straight crown with a target on his back.
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