The Ohio State football team will keep having Ryan Day as their head coach for a while. He was re-signed to a deal that will make him the second-highest-paid coach in all of college football. It's a deal that he deserves after winning the national championship with the Buckeyes in 2024.
Today is Day's birthday. While it's his birthday, we thought it was appropriate for us to celebrate his best moments since he's been with the Ohio State Buckeyes. He has been the head coach since 2019, and all of these moments will be ones that he has been the head coach for.
We will give you his three best moments, counting down from three to one. Our first moment is the last, and only, win against Michigan.
3. Ohio State football taking down Michigan in 2019
The biggest knock against Day as a head coach is that he hasn't been able to beat Michigan. He has lost four straight games against the Wolverines, which is a big-time no-no if you're going to coach the Buckeyes. He has only one win against them, and it was back in 2019.
What a win it was, though. It showcased one of Justin Fields' greatest moments as a college player. He hurt his knee, sat out a few plays, and then threw a touchdown pass to Garrett Wilson in his first play that he came back in for. It was a showcase of his toughness.
The Buckeyes would go on to beat TTUN 56-27 en route to an undefeated regular season. Unfortunately, they ended up getting screwed by the refs in the Fiesta Bowl against Clemson, ending their season. That's still the most talented team I've ever seen Ohio State have.
2. The Ohio State football team gets revenge vs. Clemson
Following that disappointing loss to Clemson in 2019, the Buckeyes came into 2020 as one of the favorites to win a national title. Unfortunately, the pandemic hit. That meant that the Big Ten almost didn't play football at all. It took Fields and some other players publicly lobbying for them to play.
Ohio State would finish the season undefeated and win the Big Ten Championship. They would then get a chance to avenge their 2019 loss against Clemson, facing them in the Sugar Bowl. That's exactly what the Buckeyes did, blowing out the Tigers 49-28.
Since that game, Clemson has not been in contention for the College Football Playoff. There's a chance that the Buckeyes broke their program. It was one of the best moments that Day has ever had as the head coach for Ohio State.
1. Winning the national championship with an all-time four-game CFP run in 2024
No moment has been greater for Day than what he did with the Buckeyes last year. After suffering another loss to TTUN, it looked like they were dead in the water. Day was getting calls for his job, including from me. It looked like the Buckeyes were headed for a dud in the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff.
Ohio State went on the best four-team run in college football history. They destroyed Tennessee in the Shoe, blew out Oregon in the Rose Bowl, beat Texas in the Cotton Bowl, and secured the natty against Notre Dame. Three of those teams finished in the top five of the AP Poll at the end of the season.
The Buckeyes are the defending national champions thanks to this great run. It's by far the best moment in Day's career. He has a chance to repeat next season and solidify his spot as one of the greatest coaches in Ohio State football history.