The Ohio State Buckeyes are your College Football Playoff national champions. And with their big win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Monday night, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day got the proverbial monkey off his back after years of criticism from his own fanbase.
That criticism reached a fever pitch after Ohio State’s fourth-straight loss to their rival Michigan Wolverines just about two months ago. On Monday, Day was able to rattle off his fourth-straight win in the playoff to secure the Buckeyes’ first national title since 2014.
ESPN’s lead college football analyst and former Ohio State quarterback Kirk Herbstreit, who was in the booth for Monday’s game, had high praise for the embattled coach during the broadcast as it became clear his team would be crowned national champions.
“I hear the stories behind the curtain, I know what he and his wife and his family go through. It’s really, it’s tough. It’s tough to be a coach at a premium school where you’re expected to win every game. He handled it with such class.” – Kirk Herbstreit on Ryan Day getting over… pic.twitter.com/5jbguxPH6r
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 21, 2025
“I’m a friend of his. Very objective. [I] try to be as fair as I can be,” Herbstreit began. “But I hear the stories behind the curtain, I know what he and his wife and his family go through. It’s really, it’s tough. It’s tough to be a coach at a premium school where you’re expected to win every game. He handled it with such class. And he gets on top of the mountain.”
It’s not the first time Herbstreit has alluded to the difficulties Ryan Day has faced from his own fanbase, even to the point where the coach needs to hire 24/7 armed security because of threats he’s received. No doubt, it’s likely difficult for Herbstreit to decouple his personal relationship with Day from his view of Ohio State’s season when the circumstances are that serious.
Herbstreit is likely right to feel a bit vindicated in his defense of Day. The coach now sports a 70-10 overall record at Ohio State, has made the College Football Playoff four out of six seasons he’s been the head coach, and now has a ring to quiet his critics.
If that doesn’t settle the so-called “lunatic fringe” of Ohio State fans that Herbstreit regularly rails against, then nothing will.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.