Will Ohio State to fire Ryan Day,History of CFP disappointments, Michigan record and more

Will Ohio State to fire Ryan Day,History of CFP disappointments, Michigan record and more
The No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes are set to take on the No. 9 Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday night in the first round of the College Football Playoff.

This is a big opportunity for head coach Ryan Day, who is in his seventh season as Ohio State’s head coach. Despite having an impressive record in Columbus, Day caught plenty of heat after Ohio State’s loss to Michigan earlier in the season. The loss caused people across college football to wonder if the school would fire Day despite his $36.5 million buyout.

But thanks to the expanded 12-team playoff, OSU’s two losses to Oregon and Michigan weren’t enough to keep the Buckeyes out of the playoff. However, there’s still plenty of pressure on Day not just to win against Tennessee, but to win a national title, especially given that the school spent a reported $20 million to build its current roster.

Let’s run through Day’s record against ranked opponents, rival Michigan and in the playoff to see why Ohio State has a national title or bust mentality in 2024.

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Will Ohio State fire Ryan Day?

No one has a crystal ball, so it’s hard to know if OSU will fire Day. Still, there is enormous pressure on Day heading into these playoffs given Ohio State’s 13-10 loss to Michigan, which entered The Game as a 6-5 team.

A recent report from ESPN suggests that even at the start of the season, anything less than a win over Michigan paired with a deep playoff run would allow Ohio State to consider making a change. Former Buckeye receiver Cris Carter has said Day should be fired if the Buckeyes don’t win a national title. Prominent alumni have reportedly been outspoken about the Michigan losses, and Ohio State’s new athletic director didn’t hire Day.

To put it plainly, there isn’t a yes or no answer to whether or not Day will be fired, but his struggles against Michigan and other ranked opponents have caused the question to gain major traction in recent weeks.

Ryan Day’s record at Ohio State

Over the last seven seasons, Day has gone 66-10 at Ohio State.

The Buckeyes’ best seasons under Day came in 2021, with OSU finishing 11-2 with a 48-45 Rose Bowl victory over Utah, and in 2020, with the Buckeyes going 11-2 and making it to the national title game

While Day’s record, which is an FBS-leading .868 win percentage for active head coaches, looks successful on the surface, looking deeper at his seven seasons at Columbus tells a bit of a different story.

Against top-five opponents, Day is just 4-6 in his career. Day even had a four-game losing streak in games against top-five opponents until Ohio State beat then-No. 3 Penn State earlier this season.

As my colleague Bill Bender pointed out earlier this week, Ohio State is just 3-3 in the regular season against teams ranked inside the top five. The Buckeyes lost to then-No. 3 Oregon earlier this season. OSU’s last two losses to Michigan came when the Wolverines were ranked inside the top five as well.

Day’s four wins against top-five teams came in the following games:

Day is, however, better than the coach before Meyer, Jim Tressel, who finished 10-8 against top-10 teams from 2001-2010.

Here’s a look at all of Day’s games against top-10 opponents and how he did in each:

Day is more closely compared to Meyer, who was 6-2 in top-five games at Ohio State from 2012-18. Meyer’s big-game reputation still resonates in Columbus.