Ryan Day led Ohio State to its first national championship in a decade last season. The Buckeyes won the inaugural edition of the 12-team College Football Playoff in a dramatic fashion, embarking on a dominant run following a disappointing loss to rival Michigan.
The Buckeyes defeated Tennessee, Oregon, Texas and Notre Dame convincingly to claim the ultimate goal. In a recent interview with Josh Pate, Day outlined the message he gave to his team that shaped their mentality before the national championship game in Atlanta.
“The truth of it all was if you don’t win this national championship game, nobody cares,” Day said. “You have nothing to show for it. Jack Sawyer’s Interception in the rivalry game is one of the greatest plays ever been a part of, no one will ever talk about it because we lost the game.
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“It’s not Jack Sawyer’s fault. It’s just it’s all of our fault. We lost the game. All of those things would not have been able to be told if we don’t win the whole thing and we were right out here when I said it and it was going in the national championship game.”
Fans on X reacted to the mentality Ryan Day instilled in his players, which was crucial to boosting their momentum ahead of the championship game. The coach was able to get the right words to his players despite the criticism from fans ahead of the playoffs.
“I’m sold give ryan day a lifetime contact,” a fan wrote.
“This is how one should think in all sports,” another commented.
“I can already tell by the way he talks that he’s an extremely good coach,” a fan wrote.
More fans shared their excitement at having such a coach for their team.
“That’s the spirit, lets gooo,” a fan wrote.
“That’s basically the point of the sport, no?” another commented.
“I love it!” one fan commented.
Ryan Day discusses the pain that comes with building a winning team
The college football landscape is very competitive as many programs seek to eliminate others in the bid to win championships. This makes it really hard to win in the realm, and it takes some process to achieve it. Ryan Day explained the pain on the route to winning to Josh Pate.
“You can’t just make it all better in one day,” Day said. “That’s probably the most frustrating thing. You’ve got to sit on it. You’ve got to sit on it. And people in the building have to read things, and you can say, well, don’t read those things.”
“Well, our players read them. The parents of the players read them. The people in the building read them. Our family members read them. So you better read them. You better find out what people are saying about you. Not that you have to listen, but it’s just part of the world we live in.”
Ryan Day heads into the upcoming season in a much better situation in high-pressure Columbus. However, the expectation to win among the fanbase has gone even higher following the national title victory. This is what the coach has to live up to in the next couple of years.
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Edited by Ruth John S
