Saturday’s game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish ended in controversy after Ohio State head coach Ryan Day went on a viral rant toward former Notre Dame head coach Lou Holtz. Former Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn offered his opinion on the incident on Tuesday, calling out Day for his aggressive speech towards the 86-year-old Holtz.
Day’s comments after the game didn’t come out of nowhere. Holtz had appeared on a live edition of the The Pat McAfee Show at Notre Dame’s campus.
In this appearance, Holtz predicted that Notre Dame would win the matchup over Ohio State because they were “more physical”.
Here’s what Lou Holtz said on @PatMcAfeeShow that Ryan Day angrily referred to after Ohio St. beat Notre Dame: pic.twitter.com/r1Ju4pwl00
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 24, 2023
This led to Day’s response after the game, where he angrily asked where Lou Holtz was after Ohio State proved his prediction to be wrong.
“I’d like to know where Lou Holtz is now,” Day said of the 86-year-old Holtz, who was Notre Dame’s coach from 1986-1996. “What he said about our team, what he said about our team, I cannot believe. This is a tough team right here. We’re proud to be from Ohio. And it’s always been Ohio against the world. It’ll continue to be Ohio against the world.”
"I'D LIKE TO KNOW WHERE LOU HOLTZ IS NOW. WHAT HE SAID ABOUT OUR TEAM, WHAT HE SAID ABOUT OUR TEAM, I CANNOT BELIEVE. THIS IS A TOUGH TEAM RIGHT HERE. WE'RE PROUD TO BE FROM OHIO. AND IT'S ALWAYS BEEN OHIO AGAINST THE WORLD. IT'LL CONTINUE TO BE OHIO AGAINST THE WORLD." pic.twitter.com/6xUN3R2WOb
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 24, 2023
Brady Quinn spoke about Day’s comments, where he took exception to just how aggressively Day came at the former Notre Dame coach.
“You’re talking about an 86-year-old man,” Quinn said Monday on the 2 Pros and a Cup of Joe Fox Sports Radio show. “They had the 1988 national championship team down there on the field, and they were helping to hold coach Holtz up, given his health conditions and everything else.
“Did Lou Holtz say anything that wasn’t true about those previous losses? There wasn’t anything that he said that wasn’t true. It was for TV, he’s an 86-year-old man. This came off, to me, as Ryan Day looking just bizarre for taking this emotional response after a big win. To go off on an 86-year-old coach that’s no longer a part of it anymore? You trying to find him in a bar like you are trying to beat him up because of what he said? It was bizarre. It was so odd to me, man.”
As Quinn alluded to, it wasn’t exactly the best look for Day to be calling out someone as beloved in the college football world as Lou Holtz simply for making a prediction about his former program.
Regardless, Day and Ohio State got the last laugh with the victory on the field. And he and Ohio State will look to keep their undefeated season intact when they face off against the Maryland Terrapins.
