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Ryan Day Facing Same Criticism Even After National Championship Win

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Justice Covert | Last updated May 19, 2025 4:00 PM ET

Despite having just won ninth national championship in Ohio State Buckeyes football history, head coach Ryan Day's resume still faces the same criticism.

On Friday, ESPN published an article ranking the top ten coaches in college football. The pecking order was determined by eleven ESPN's college football reporters, each. Georgia's Kirby Smart took the number one spot, receiving eleven of the twelve first-place votes.

Second place went to Day but with more of a mixed bag.

Three voters tabbed Day as the fourth-best coach in college football. For one of the voters, at least, Andrea Adelson, a senior writer at ESPN, the choice was due to the same issues repeatedly brought up against Day's resume as the Buckeyes' head coach — his record against Michigan.

"I think he should be docked for having a poor record against Michigan, the most important game on the schedule every year," Adelson wrote. "He is 1-4 against the Wolverines and lost last season as a prohibitive favorite."

Day and the Buckeyes have lost four straight to rival Michigan, with the most recent installment this past November perhaps the most shocking. No. 2 Ohio State entered the matchup as 20.5 point favorites over unranked Michigan, according to ESPNBET, and lost 13-10 at home.

But what about the national championship win? ESPN senior writer Mark Schlabach ranked Smart as the No. 1 head coach, but wrote that if Day guided the Buckeyes to a second straight title, you could make the case for him being number one.

Connor Stalions explaining Ryan Day & Ohio State were so reliant on knowing Michigan’s signals that when they changed things up in 21’ Ohio State was rattled. pic.twitter.com/7l7FmHTHuu
— Juck (@JuckOnBucks) March 28, 2025

"You might be thinking the national title is reason enough to have Day ranked higher," Adelson wrote. "But in any other season, that Michigan loss would have ended the Buckeyes' season. They got a second chance only because of the newly expanded 12-team playoff."

To ward off the continued criticism, the solution is simple: Day and the Buckeyes must start winning against that team up north.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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