Ohio State Football: Debunking the “Ryan Day can’t win a big game” narrative

After defeating #7 ranked Penn State this past Saturday, Ohio State football head coach Ryan Day improved to 18-6 against ranked opponents. His winning percentage of .725 is tops among active coaches in Division I college football. In fact, the only other coach who has a .700 winning percentage or better against ranked opponents is Georgia’s Kirby Smart.

There is a false narrative floating around college football that Ryan Day can’t win a big game. That narrative is simply not statistically true. Under Ryan Day’s leadership, every three out of four games Ohio State plays a ranked opponent has ended with the Buckeyes winning. No one in college football is better.

This false narrative derives from the fact that when Ryan Day coached in the college football playoffs, it did not end in a National Championship yet. Plus, the past two times Ohio State has played ranked Michigan, it hasn’t gone well for the Buckeyes. But there are now some serious questions about what method Jim Harbaugh and his staff were taking in order to find a competitive advantage against Day and the Buckeyes.

If Day and his teams could keep this winning percentage of .750 going against ranked opponents, Day will end up not only as one of the greatest head coaches in Ohio State football history statistically, but it is only a matter of time until he breaks through in the College Football Playoffs and wins that elusive National Championship. It would be a mathematical anomaly to have the best winning percentage in all of college football against ranked opponents, and yet somehow never win it all.

This is just another reason why Ohio State football fans need to remain calm. The fact that you can recall Day’s six career losses just goes to show how spoiled of a fanbase we have become. I understand that the standard is to beat TTUN and win every game after that. Day has stated on several occasions that he understands that that is the standard by which he is held. I am not suggesting that we lower that standard, but I also want us to see and understand how good of a job Day has done.

TTUN fans like to chirp about Day being born on third base. How he was handed a sports car built by Urban Meyer and all he had to do was not wreck it. But let me point out that we are now five seasons removed from Meyer. If Day wasn’t a really good coach, this thing would have crashed and burned by now. Day not only continues to hold it together, but given the recruiting rankings every year, he is building a future National Championship program.

Enjoy Day’s success Buckeye Nation. Cheer him and this team on. They may not be winning in the style that we have become accustomed to, but it’s winning nonetheless, and who doesn’t love a winner?