A year ago, Ohio State was coming off another defeat against Michigan, and they were out of the four-team playoff. They had an off-season of uncertainty with the roster, the coaching staff, and the program. They played a Cotton Bowl game and got embarrassed by Missouri, in a game that most of the program and fans did not care about.
Fast forward a year, Ohio State is coming off another loss against Michigan, but with the help of the 12-team playoff, they are now alive to make a National title run. This first game against Tennessee will be a battle, and if Ohio State wins, they will set up a rematch against Oregon, a team they lost to by one point on the road. With the loss to Michigan, Ryan Day has a second chance to make amends to the fan base by winning a National Championship Game. It starts with a home game against Tennessee.
Last Off-Season
Ohio State decided to go all in with this team and committed $20 million to a roster to beat Michigan and make a national title run. The notable seniors who came back instead of going to the NFL were the following: Emeka Egbuka, Donovan Jackson, Jack Sawyer, J.T. Tuimoloau, Lathan Ransom, and Denzel Burke.
With commitment to NIL and a chance to beat Michigan and win the National Championship, they decided to come back. Losing to Michigan was a major blow, but now those Seniors have a chance to make a National title run. It is up to Day and his coaching staff to put them in a position to win the Tennessee game and to make a National title run. If they were to lose this game after that big of a commitment in the off-season, they might be some upset boosters in the program.
The other big part of the off-season was the hiring of an Offensive coordinator to free up Day to focus on the team. It has largely been a success because Chip Kelly is an elite play-caller. An example was after the Oregon loss Day went and spent time with the defense and helped them improve that unit.
Now Chip Kelly had one of the worst game plans I have ever seen against Michigan. This game is a chance to show that Chip Kelly has learned from that debacle and has Ohio State in the right direction. Another lackluster performance by the offense Day and Kelly might be looking for other jobs.
Weapons
Having the best wide receiver unit in College Football should give Ohio State an advantage in this game. As I have mentioned in previous articles, Day and Kelly need to get the ball into the hands of Egbuka and Smith. If Ohio State tries to run the ball and slug it out against a talented Tennessee defense of front they might be in trouble. This is the type of game that Day and Kelly need to show their offensive playing chops and call a big game by getting the ball to their receivers.
Record in Big Games
Ryan Day enters this game 0-3 vs. the SEC. He lost to Alabama in the 2021 National Title game, to Georgia in the 2022 CFB Semifinal game, and last year's bowl loss to Missouri. Winning this game would show everyone he could win a big game in the biggest moments.
He is currently 12-8 in top-10 games, which isn’t terrible, but compare that to the previous Head Coach, Urban Meyer, who went 13-4, and you can see a clear difference between them. Finally, if he would lose this game it would lead to the 3rd straight year he lost to Michigan and an SEC team to close the season. This would be a bad look for Day. He needs to win this game for himself, so he can gain some credibility back with the fans, alumni, and boosters.
Final Thoughts
The Ohio State fanbase is largely out on Ryan Day. Now he can win them back if he wins a national championship. The first step to that is a home game against an SEC opponent in Tennessee. It is up to Day to win this game, or it could be a long off-season for him and the Buckeye program.