Ohio State has an unusual road ahead of them as they welcome Tennessee to Ohio Stadium on Saturday in the first round of the College Football Playoff. The Buckeyes have to bounce back from losing to their rival in the final game of the regular season and now win out in the postseason. This is such a rare task that it has only been conquered three times in the past 100 years.
It's on Ryan Day to lead his team to become the fourth team to accomplish that feat. It’s only been done by Nick Saban (Alabama, 2017), Bear Bryant (Kentucky, 1950), and Les Miles (LSU, 2007). The Buckeyes and Ryan Day will have to do what only two of the top five coaches in all of college football history and a Mad Hatter (in the most insane season ever) have done.
They’ll have to do it in four games and against Tennessee, Oregon, likely Texas, and likely Georgia. Losing to your rival for the fourth straight time means if you are lucky enough to still have a chance to play for championships, you’re going to have to do it the hard way.
It’s no secret that Ohio State viewed 2024 as a national championship or bust season. Nor is it a secret that in the eyes of many of the Buckeye faithful that is the only thing that should let Ryan Day keep his job for the time being. This urgency only grows when you lean into The Game being the most important thing for your team, that nothing matters more, and keep losing it.
Day is doing nothing to help himself either. Ohio State has made very little positive noise in the portal, and the coach keeps missing the little things.
Losing games that define you, facing maybe the most difficult path possible to redemption, showing no signs of things changing in the future, and making it clear you still don’t get it make for a historical and brutally difficult path to glory.