Ryan Day and Ohio State may have gotten what they deserved after likely being eliminated from the CFP after Saturday's embarrassing loss to Oregon.
Day has been mismanaging his talent all season, using questionable motivational tactics to inspire this group. After Julian Sayin's season-ending throwing shoulder injury, all of Day's methods crashed and burned.
Day's biggest mistake was being all in on Luke Fahey and ignoring 5-star Bellefontaine product Tavien St. Clair. Genuinely, in what world is it okay to start a true freshman whom most see as undersized with the season on the line?
Sayin is a great talent, but was he really so good that the difference between a CFP appearance and losing by double digits to USC and Dan Lanning's worst Ducks team? Fahey isn't that far of a drop-off, is he?
That decision not only cost Jeremiah Smith the Heisman, but it may force uncomfortable questions about Arthur Smith this offseason. Day's unexplained vendetta against St. Clair was destructive across the board.
Why couldn't St. Clair get a chance? He had the tools to be the next great quarterback in Columbus. Some say he has a Pat Mahomes skill set. Alas, that was one of several bad decisions that led OSU to this unenviable position.
Dare I say: it serves Day right.
Let's not forget that Day aggressively undercut sophomore running backs Bo Jackson and Isaiah West while hyping up Ja'Kobi Jackson. Day straight up questioned their effort. The Florida transfer Jackson went down with an injury, and even though the pair, especially Bo, have stepped up since, there hasn't been a narrative correction from Day.
Don't be shocked if Jackson and/or West leave the program through the transfer portal, given how they were handled early on in the season. Don't be shocked if many other players follow suit come January.
Is Ohio State University paying for bad karma?
Perhaps this is beyond football. Perhaps the football gods are punishing The Ohio State University for not denouncing its ties to one of the most evil men in America: Les Wexner.
"Ohio State University has decided to keep billionaire benefactor and former trustee Les Wexner’s name on its football practice facility and other prominent buildings, resisting hundreds of formal requests for removal and short-circuiting the review of an OSU standing advisory committee overseeing the matter," Sportico's Daniel Libit reported.
"The decision, announced Friday by interim provost and executive director Trevor Brown, followed a review of 512 petitions challenging its continued recognition of the L Brands founder. Petitioners cited Wexner’s longstanding ties to Jeffrey Epstein, concerns over his company’s practices, and questions surrounding Wexner’s handling, during his tenure as trustee, of sexual abuse allegations against former OSU sports medicine doctor Richard Strauss."
Day's mishandling of the football program is a tiny speck compared to the bad karma such a decision may be causing. The issues aren't in the same universe. Bad coaching doesn't come close to the evil that Wexner facilitated.
Day deserves the football karma he's getting during this losing streak.
OSU deserves to lose when associating with someone like Wexner and not even taking his name off its buildings.
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