I’ve been one of Ryan Day’s biggest critics. I’m one of the lunatic fringe that Kirk Herbstreit and ESPN paint as insane, and who Urban Meyer says understands that the standard is the standard. I got articles on two different platforms and two different social media accounts full of posts to prove it. With my criticism of Coach Day, I’ve always also said I hope he proves me wrong and makes me eat my words, especially my doubts. He did, and I loved every minute of it!
Ryan Day has slain his demon, and I couldn’t be happier to be proven wrong! Coach Day’s monster, contrary to popular belief, wasn’t even The Game. It was his inability to complete the great stories he would have his team write all season long. Only to come up just short. He made it clear to this team that they had to win in order to tell their story. And the embattled head coach who led them gets to be the author.
Their story is maybe the most unique in Ohio State history. They are the first to win a national championship without beating their rival and winning the Big Ten. They’re the first to play in 16 games in a single season. They’re the first team ever to beat five AP top 5 teams in a single season. They were the first to beat four AP top 5 teams since 1967.
They had an incredibly high-powered offense that could kill you in many ways. They had two 1,000-yard rushers with at least 10 touchdowns, Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson. The Bucks had two 1,000-yard receivers with at least 10 touchdowns, Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka, and only the third 4,000-yard passer in school history, Will Howard. Howard also led the nation in QBR with a quarterback rating of 89.6.
The defense was historic. They finished #1 in both yards allowed and scoring. They gave up only 254.6 yards per game, only 12.9 points per game, and had the second most sacks in the nation with 53 on the season. Jim Knowles proved himself the defensive genius he was touted as when he came to Ohio.
Ryan Day infamously told his wife after the regular season was over, "I have no other choice but to fight my way out of this." Coach Day didn’t just fight his way out; he conquered. The story he has now cemented with this team is one of resilience, faith, never-quitting, and never-stop-believing.
Maybe it arrives along with age, but I’ve learned a lot from this team. The head coach, the staff, and the players all handled this situation in a way that we’ve never seen before. When the people who love and live and die with their success gave them harsh but true criticism (with some idiots always crossing the line) they responded like champions.
They could have turned on the Buckeye faithful and said that the national media is right, that we (fans) are too passionate about Ohio State football. That all of us are like the few bad apples that take things too far. They could have washed their hands of it all.
They didn’t. They doubled down on who they are—that they are a team of faith and family and that they never, ever quit. They knew the character they had built and had chosen to embrace, and they stuck with it. That is a direct result of their head coach. Teams reflect their leadership the most when times are tough. This team rallied around Ryan Day and told their story. They didn’t allow anyone else to tell it, and that is why they will never be forgotten and always loved in Ohio.
Going forward, I think I will be a better Buckeye than I was before. This team walked as better Buckeyes. Their legacy is one of perseverance, of not letting difficult times and experiences make you less, but of banding together to make you and those around you more. I hope I can respond to life like the 2024 National Champion Ohio State Buckeyes, led by Ryan Day, did.