The redemption of Ryan Day

Ryan Day aims to have his Ohio State Buckeyes leave no doubt and, following the team’s national championship win over the Note Dame Fighting Irish, Day’s men have redeemed the once questioned head coach.

Ryan Day aims to have his Ohio State Buckeyes leave no doubt. After a complete team performance that won the Bucks their first national championship in 10 years, Day should have removed any doubts about his tenure in Columbus in the minds of the Buckeye faithful. Ohio State fans are some of the toughest and most critical in college football – indeed, some will come away from this 34-23 victory over Notre Dame, which won the school’s ninth national title, unhappy that it wasn’t an even bigger win – and Day has been the subject of their ire all season. Even as the Buckeyes blew out team after team for much of the season, a one-point loss to Oregon stuck in their collective craw. And then came the listless loss to Michigan. Boos rained down on Day and his team from their home fans as they were unable to get anything going on offense for much of the game and the truly mediocre Wolverines scored their fourth-straight victory over their arch-rivals. All that seems a distant memory now. Day has delivered on the promise his team showed most of this season and the talented Buckeyes are now national champions. “They’re my motivation – my family at home, my wife and kids and then these guys. That’s why I get up every day, to help these guys reach their dreams and goals,” Day said after the game. “That’s all it comes down to, and then also it just shows an example – when things get hard in life, just keep swinging as hard as you can and fight. That’s our culture.”