by Kyle Golik
Over a year ago, I wrote a column that was appropriately titled, “New Day” Of College Football Has Broken Ohio State.” When you look at what transpired between former quarterback Kyle McCord’s fateful interception against Michigan that led to “The Team Up North’s” third consecutive win against the Buckeyes.
Following that disappointment, McCord abruptly entered the transfer portal when he wasn’t assured the opportunity to be the starting quarterback. With Ohio State not in the College Football Playoff, they had key bowl opt-outs, notably from wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr, and lost to a Missouri team scoring the fewest points since being shut out by Clemson in the 2016-17 College Football Semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl.
If there was a rock bottom, Ohio State hit it a year ago. I wrote about it then ending my column saying about head coach Ryan Day:
Day’s first challenge isn’t beating Michigan, it is to adapt to this new world and adjust, because if he can’t do that, he won’t be around long enough to worry about Michigan.
A year later, it is mission-accomplished for the much-maligned and often criticized Ohio State head coach. Day, who was beginning to gain comparisons to John Cooper with having similar success against Michigan, shook that label Monday night as he did something Cooper did not. That was winning a national championship.
“That God made it hard for a reason. You just never know what’s in your path along the way. But this game can give you the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. It can take you to your knees some days as a player and as a coach. I’ve been there before,” Day said following the win, expressing these sentiments with a sense of relief realizing his team finally achieved their goals.
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It was former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh who infamously quipped the “third base” comment about Day. It’s hard not to agree with Harbaugh at times, for a first-time head coach to get a loaded roster and resources like Day did at Ohio State is like receiving a Maserati as your first vehicle.
Day did produce results early on in his career. Ohio State won Big Ten Championships in his first two seasons, had a mastery of Michigan, with the only defeats coming in the College Football Playoff, one controversially to Clemson and then being routed by Alabama in the 2020-21 College Football Playoff national championship.
Day would ride a 22-game Big Ten conference winning streak until the 2021 Michigan game, where it seemed Michigan could run at will against Ohio State.
It seemed like Groundhog’s Day for the Ohio State coach on an annual basis. They seemingly dominated the early portion of the slate and faltered late, creating the pressure cooker Day had to live with the past three seasons.
“Well, I feel like from the start of this thing, we’ve been knocking on the door, and I think about the ’19 team and the ’20 team and the ’21 team, the ’22 team, you keep going through these seasons, and we weren’t that far off. But you’ve got to find a way to break through and make it to where we are right now,” Day said.
“I think in today’s day and age, there’s just so much that goes with wins and losses and social media and people have to write articles and there’s a lot of things that are said that, yeah, certainly have an effect on you and your family. But when you sign up for this job, that’s what you sign up for. You’ve got to be strong enough to withstand those storms, to come out the back end. Now it’s an even better story. Nothing is guaranteed, but I always in the back of my mind felt that the people of Ohio and all of Buckeye Nation, after going through difficult times and seeing a team and a bunch of coaches go through difficult times, to achieve their goal, it would mean even more, and I hope they’re all proud of what we’ve done.”
What broke Ohio State a season ago is what eventually cured it this season. Ohio State secured key pieces in the transfer portal that were the difference-makers in the game. Quarterback Will Howard set a National Championship Game record with 13 consecutive completions and was able to locate freshman phenom Jeremiah Smith to seal the game. Running back Quinshon Judkins, who was seen as an NIL cap casualty at Ole Miss, turned in a 100-yard performance and three total touchdowns (2 rushing, 1 receiving) that made the difference. Safety Caleb Downs had a spectacular night in coverage and was among the team leaders with five tackles.
They were able to leverage NIL and make it attractive for draft eligible talent like Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau to return for another season. Maybe Urban Meyer and Jim Tressel were onto something back in August when they raised the stakes saying this is one of the most talented teams they have ever seen. This is a new era in college football, going undefeated through 16 or 17 games is an unreal task, there is a reason in NFL history only the 1972 Miami Dolphins and 2007 Patriots had seasons where they won their teams’ first 16 games of the season (regular or postseason).
If anything, Day gets to enjoy controlling the narrative.
“The story gets to get told now,” Day said. “It’s a great story about a bunch of guys who have overcome some really tough situations. There was a point where there was a lot of people that counted us out, and we just kept swinging and kept fighting. It’s the reason you get into coaching, to see guys overcome things, learn life lessons and then reach their dreams. This is what happened tonight.”
