Three members of the Ohio State football team facing the most pressure

3. Ryan Day

No other member of the Ohio State football program is facing more pressure than Ryan Day. Day is now in his sixth season leading the Buckeyes. The program is firmly his and all members of the team are from his recruiting classes. Urban Meyers players have all left.

Since taking over for Meyer, Day has done a lot of good things. He has two Big Ten Championships, three College Football Playoff appearances, and a National Championship Game appearance. He was in charge of the best Ohio State football team I've ever seen too, which was the 2019 team.

And yet, his failures have been louder than his successes. He got crushed in that National Championship Game by Alabama. He hasn't won a Big Ten title since 2020. By far the biggest failure on his resume is his 1-3 record against Michigan in The Game.

Besides beating TTUN with Meyer's players in 2019, Day hasn't gotten it done in the most important game of Ohio State's season. Fans are tired of the losing streak. They haven't lost three straight games against TTUN since the 1990s. That's unacceptable.

If Day doesn't beat Michigan this year or win a national title, he has to do at least one of the two, he won't be coaching the program next year. His seat is burning up. Gene Smith is no longer there to protect him either. Ross Bjork won't hesitate to bring someone else who can actually beat Michigan in.

Day knows that there's pressure on him and he's embracing it. That's really all he can do at this point.