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After enduring threats and calls for his sack, Ohio State’s Ryan Day can go from extremely low to extremely high


ATLANTA — Emotionally, this has been a season unlike any other for Ryan Day.

Less than two months ago, loud and influential voices in the media were calling for the nation’s winningest active coach to be fired after Ohio State’s fourth straight loss to Michigan.

He received harassment and threats of physical harm from die-hard fans – also some death threats, his players said – and his wife and children endured weeks of verbal abuse. Even Lou Holtz, the 88-year-old former Notre Dame coach, continued to be the proverbial thorn in his side.

Everything is better, for now. Three straight wins in the College Football Playoff put the Buckeyes in the championship game against Notre Dame at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. A win over the Fighting Irish will keep his critics at bay. A loss? Day doesn’t want to think about it.

“I keep telling my wife, we signed up for it,” Day said. “It’s the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. This game will bring you to your knees and give you some of the greatest experiences in the world. Not many people get to experience those highs and lows, and you have to deal with the hard times and enjoy the good.”

There were many good times. Day is 69-10 in six-plus seasons since taking over for Urban Meyer, the fourth time he’s led the Buckeyes to the CFP and second time to the title game.

Day mentioned that he and Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman lead programs with extremely high expectations. Watching state championships is standard. In Ohio State’s case, beating Michigan is just as important, if not more so.

That the Buckeyes failed to do so for the fourth year in a row turned up the heat on the Day to unprecedented levels. They are on their longest series losing streak since John Cooper’s teams fell by the same number from 1988-91.

Before this year’s game, Day made a poignant statement that the loss to the Wolverines was comparable for him to when his father died when he was a boy.

Day’s wife, Nina, said last week in an interview with Columbus television station WBNS that she could see how much the last loss at Michigan took her husband.

“The weeks between the ‘Team Up North’ game and the Tennessee game were brutal,” she said, referring to the Buckeyes’ first-round playoff opponent. “I was very upset about what was happening to some of our players and my children. It just wasn’t right. I think Buckeye Nation is an amazing fan base, really. And with every fan base there’s that percentage that goes too far.”

Nick Saban, former Alabama coach and now one of the most prominent talkers in college football, drove that point home.

“These Ohio State fans, you know, they have a psychotic obsession with Michigan and they have to go to therapy or something to try to fix it,” Saban said.

Then there’s Holtz, who predicted in 2023 that Notre Dame would win the regular season against the Buckeyes because Day’s team wasn’t as physical. After Ohio State won on a late touchdown, Day used his postgame TV interview to call out Holtz for belittling his team.

Holtz returned to it last week, announcing on X that if Notre Dame doesn’t win, “it’s because we want to save Ryan Day’s job.” In another post, he predicted a 3-point Irish win and said, “Remember, we’re Notre Dame and they’re not!”

Buckeyes offensive lineman Donovan Jackson said the poking and prodding Dan receives from fans and the media makes the national championship game personal for him and his teammates.

“Yeah, we’d love to win this for him,” Jackson said. “He is the ultimate competitor. He wants to win more than anyone else in the building. The things he and his family went through are, in our opinion, ridiculous. We understand the magnitude of the games we play, but some of the things he goes through, I don’t really understand.”



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