The Ohio State football program is coming off a national championship, which is by far the best thing on Ryan Day's resume. He helped the Buckeyes win their first title in a decade, becoming the first champion in the 12-team CFP era. It was quite the achievement.
Despite the fact that Day has now coached two different teams to a national title appearance, he has never won a major coaching award. He has never been the Big Ten Coach of the Year, nor has he won any national coaching honors. He's hoping to change that in 2025.
Heading into next season, Day is relieved of a lot of pressure. Even though he still has trouble beating Michigan, he has proven that he can still win at the highest level. That Michigan monkey will likely be off his back as soon as next year, which would make him much more likely to win the Dodd Trophy.
Ohio State football coach Ryan Day is on the preseason watch list for the Dodd Trophy
Day is one of the 26 coaches on the preseason watch list for the 2025 Dodd Trophy. The trophy is awarded to coaches who not only win games but also help their student-athletes excel in the classroom. Day has maintained a 1000 APR with the Ohio State Buckeyes.
The Buckeyes are certainly expected to win a lot of games this season. They are going to be one of the top three teams in the country in the preseason polls, even though they lost 15 starters from last year. They still have plenty of talent to make a real run at repeating as champs.
If Day is able to repeat as national champs while beating TTUN, there is no reason that he shouldn't win the Dodd Trophy. It would be his first coaching award, which is pretty shocking to this point in his career.