It was bleak for Ohio State and head coach Ryan Day after a fourth-straight loss to Michigan.
That’s a coaching death sentence in Columbus and there were many think pieces and much ink spilled regarding whether or not Day would be OSU’s coach in 2025-26 pending the results of the College Football Playoff.
Nobody saw a run for OSU, especially after the way the Buckeyes lost to Michigan, but here they are as national champions after defeating Notre Dame, 34-23, on Monday.
Ohio State won its ninth national championship, and according to college football “know it all” Paul Finebaum, that may just offer Day a chance at redemption.
“This is really about a lot of things, but also redemption for Ryan Day,” Finebaum recently said on ESPN’s “Get Up” (h/t On3). “We all know what the narrative was, and it was real. I know a lot of Ohio State fans want to act like it was the media’s fault, but they were in bars after the Michigan game blaming Ryan Day and wanting him out if he couldn’t turn this thing around, but he did.”
Day did turn things around for OSU, and in epic fashion. Perhaps nothing was as impressive as the Buckeyes’ dismantling of No. 1 Oregon in the Rose Bowl, but to follow that up with a win over a hot Texas team in the Cotton Bowl proved that this Ohio State team could win it all.
For Day’s sake, this title run may have saved his job for the foreseeable future.
