With National Title in Sight, Ohio State’s Ryan Day Closes In on Redemption

For Ohio State coach Ryan Day, the Buckeyes’ berth to the first-ever national championship game in the 12-team College Football Playoff is a redemption arc as good as any.

Less than two months ago, the Buckeyes suffered an embarrassing loss to an unranked Michigan team—costing them an opportunity to play in the Big Ten Championship game and the opportunity for a first-round bye in the CFP.  The game sparked a “Fire Ryan Day” movement among some fans. 

But at the Cotton Bowl Friday night, the Buckeyes earned their title game appearance after beating the Texas Longhorns 28-14. Ohio State will face off against Notre Dame at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Jan. 20. 

“It’s what life’s all about,” Day told ESPN after the game, when asked about the doubt that he and the team faced after losing to Michigan.

In addition to vindication, Day has earned a $500,000 bonus—a number that doubles if he wins the championship. His annual salary is already about $10 million. The Big Ten wins big, too—the Buckeyes have earned $20 million in prize money for their conference, the undeniable winner of this year’s postseason. (Their opponents, Notre Dame, pocket that money, since they are not affiliated with a conference.)

Day’s recruiting strategy appeared to focus on a homegrown approach, helping to sweeten the deal with NIL (name, image, and likeness) to keep the team’s core from transferring out of Ohio State this season. At $20 million, the Buckeyes have what is believed to be one of the largest NIL collective payrolls in all of college football. 

For most of the season, Ohio State looked like a force to be reckoned with—until they lost to the Wolverines on Thanksgiving weekend. Fans were so distraught that a large number of Vols fans bought up tickets to the following game, sparking rumors that some Buckeye supporters were boycotting the game in their frustration with Day. But Day led a Buckeyes team that steamrolled through the Playoff, pummelling Tennessee and then Oregon in the Rose Bowl quarterfinal on New Year’s Day.

Texas and Ohio State were locked in a back-and-forth game until the Buckeyes pulled away thanks to one of those players who decided to return to the Buckeyes this season: Defensive end Jack Sawyer, the former teammate and roommate of Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers when the latter was a true freshman at Ohio State, who returned a fumble recovery for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter. (Sawyer told ESPN postgame that Ewers said, ‘screw you,’ and started laughing when they passed each other on the field.)

On Jan. 20, Ohio State will have the chance to win the title in the first-ever expanded playoff—something they did a decade ago when they snagged the first four-team Playoff crown.

But whatever happens, the Buckeyes loss to the Wolverines looks like nothing more than a blip on their radar. Michigan who?