It has been a roller coaster of a few months for Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes.
In mid-October, they went into Eugene as the No. 2 team in the nation to play No. 3 Oregon, and OSU walked away with a tough loss. They bounced back later in the season with a big-time win at home over No. 3 Penn State, but it all fell apart at the end of the season when Michigan came into Columbus and knocked off the Buckeyes, 13-10.
There was a ton of talk about Day’s job security, or lack thereof, after that loss to Michigan, but the Buckeyes bounced back in a big way in the College Football Playoff and three wins later, they’re one more big win away from winning the national championship.
On the other sideline is another college football blueblood in Notre Dame, but despite all the hype this game is going to get and everything the Buckeyes have gone through this season — Day is preaching focus to his team.
“One of the things we’re trying to do this week is eliminate all the distractions,” Day told the media, according to On3. “What’s happened in the past doesn’t matter. What’s happening moving forward doesn’t matter. All that matters is winning this game right now, and then we can kind of figure out what that is.”
There’s certainly pressure on Day and the Buckeyes, and making the CFP championship won’t absolve him of his sins against Michigan. Only winning it all could do that. So yes, there’s a ton riding on this one, but Day explained that all he can do is take it one moment at a time.
“I think pressure, whatever you call it, the way that you continue to work during those moments is to focus on right now and focus on your job and focus on what’s in front of you, because the rest of it doesn’t matter,” Day explained. “And that’s kind of what I’m going to focus on right now.”
