It might be time to relax and bit Ohio State fans. Ryan Day will be just fine running the program. #GoBucks
For the second-straight year, Ohio State got beat by arch-rival Michigan. And it wasn’t just beat, it was an old-fashioned second-half butt whoopin.’ The Wolverines danced and posed on the Block-O at midfield, and we’ll have to hear about it now for another year — save for an early December miracle that gets the Buckeyes into a rematch in the College Football Playoff.
Just like last season, it looks like Ohio State will be “relegated” to a spot in a New Year’s Six Bowl, most likely the Rose, at least an eleven-win season, and many other things that are easy to forget about because of how raw things are after an embarrassing showing in the biggest college football game of the year.
It’s a place today’s Ohio State fan is not used to. With so many taking their identities in all things scarlet and gray, it’s been two decades of dominance against “That School Up North,” a golden era of a bitter rivalry. And now, there is a pushback from that old rival with a run of two years that has spoiled Ohio State fans calling for massive changes in the program to win at all costs. I mean, it had to happen at some point.
Pump the brakes.
A little perspective
I’m not typically the voice of reason in a sea of discontent, but I feel it’s time to gather some perspective in a quiver of barbs being slung at a program that’s still among the elite in the country. A program that — yes, has lost two straight games to “that school” — and all the talk and disrespect that comes along with it.
We have to remember all the good that’s still going on at Ohio State with Ryan Day leading the charge. The expectations will never change on the field for the Buckeyes. As the head coach of the winningest program of all time percentage-wise, it’s expected that every game is a victory, that a Big Ten championship is a birthright, and that a national title is in sight every year.
More than that, you are expected to make Michigan crawl into a hole and retreat to the fetal position each Thanksgiving season. Oh, and by the way, don’t dare play a close game against a team you are supposed to beat. Yeah, it’s unrealistic, but that’s how it is when you wear the colors scarlet and gray and put on a headset.
Ryan Day knows all of this, and he knows that he’s fallen short the last couple of seasons. You can tell he’s disappointed and feels the weight of responsibility for letting so many people in the great state of Ohio down.
Things are actually pretty good
But here’s the deal. The program still has a ton of momentum. There hasn’t been a drop-off in recruiting — at least not yet. The Buckeyes will lose a starting quarterback that’s probably going to be a Heisman finalist again but will have another five-star talent take his place. There’s a fantastic nucleus of players returning for another run at things next season. Ohio State will continue to win on the field and have another shot at a Big Ten title, a shot at the College Football Playoff — and yes — another swing at Michigan.
More than that though, what’s going on inside the program feels far from broken — especially when you look at the types of things we’re seeing from the character of coaches and players. Ryan Day is a champion for mental health. He gets what’s important in this world better than any coach I’ve covered. Remember how Day steered the program through the COVID-19 pandemic, the George Floyd unrest, and how he played a part in getting Harry Miller the help he needed, perhaps (and don’t take this lightly) saving his life?
High-character kids are continually being recruited and starring for the program — less you think C.J. Stroud is anything but the type of person you’d want your kid to look up to and emulate. And that’s just one example. Find me another program that has so many players that are as gracious as great representations of a big-time program in the media and in the community.
Academically, Ohio State is among the best in the country at how kids are performing in the classroom. There are players making a difference in the community and winning awards for it. OSU has a coach that’s a great ambassador for the program. He’s adopted the state of Ohio and the city of Columbus as his own and seems to get all things Buckeye despite having roots in the Northeast — a far cry culturally from midwest Ohio.
Remember the Kamryn Babb story and how the entire team rallied around him and genuinely had more joy for the way he pushed through with resiliency and adversity than anything each of them accomplished individually. By and large, you don’t have guys sounding off in the media with disrespect or dancing on other teams’ logos. Ohio State is rarely in the news for off-the-field troubles and legal issues. These are all extremely impressive things for a collection of individuals the size of a major college football program.
Even brighter days are ahead
And here’s the thing; it doesn’t all happen because of dumb luck or inertia. It trickles down from the top. Only when a culture is set and aligned as an example by a leader do these types of things happen. That leader is Ryan Day, and I’ve been around enough to know when a guy is genuine and gets it. He does and likely always will. More often than not, good character rubs off on those around it, and amazing things follow.
The point here is that things are in great shape on the banks of the Olentangy. There’s a lot more positive going on with the Ohio State program than not. The sky is not falling, it’s just a little gray when it comes to beating Michigan and winning a national championship within still a short sample size under Day. The guy still has a 45-5 record by the way and those clouds will give way to sunnier skies.
So, let “that team” dance on the logo and flaunt their triumphs for yet another year. Let them have their media tour, pats on the back, and all of that. In the meantime, embrace what the Ohio State program stands for today and know that there are better days ahead with a certain rivalry and more.
There’s too much going right with the OSU program under Ryan Day for there not to be and nobody can convince me otherwise.
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