Dan Orlovsky argues that the pressure on Ryan Day is only intensifying as high expectations for a national championship continue. Credit: ESPN’s ‘First Take’
By Sam Neumann on

On Thursday’s First Take, Dan Orlovsky came prepared with some Ohio State-related hot takes.

Not only did he claim that Ohio State freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith would have NFL teams tanking for him in two years — adding even more pressure to a highly anticipated future — but he also declared that Ryan Day was facing even more pressure in the immediate term.

This came right after Stephen A. Smith suggested that the criticism of Day would soften, considering the scrutiny following Ohio State’s fourth consecutive loss to Michigan. Despite Day’s impressive record in Columbus, the “lunatic fringe” of Buckeyes fans, as Kirk Herbstreit put it, has made their voices heard loud and clear.

But it wasn’t just Ohio State fans.

ESPN’s Paul Finebaum suggested that Day should start packing his bag as notions floated that Urban Meyer could replace his successor. And Desmond Howard even suggested that Ohio State’s administration placed “too much pressure” on Day to win by handing him a top-five roster in college football.

The negative bullshit that Nick Saban lamented aside, the Buckeyes have rallied for decisive wins over Tennessee and now Oregon. Herbstreit took up for Day in the final minutes of Ohio State’s 42-17 win over the Volunteers. He took aim at the “lunatic fringe” again and after backlash — doubled down on his defense of Day, claiming Ohio State’s head coach has 24/7 security.

Talk about pressure.

But Orlovsky isn’t buying into any notion that the pressure has eased.

Sure, Ohio State has won two playoff games, but the program is still stuck on the outside looking in on its goals, having failed to beat Michigan or win the Big Ten title.

“Ain’t no way backoff is happening; I would say the pressure is even higher,” claimed Orlovsky. “The expectations — because they’re clearly the best team in college football. They’re clearly the best team… I’m not calling for Ryan Day to get fired at all. The reason why the noise was so loud after the Michigan loss was because everyone knew how good of a team they were.

“And there’s no way that a team that good, at home, should lose to Michigan that we watched beat Alabama, but you know, not a dominant football team. I would argue over the last two games, the expectations are ramping up even higher.”

So, as Orlovsky put it, pretty much anything less than a championship will only fuel the firestorm.

[First Take]

About Sam Neumann

Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.

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