The pressure is on at Ohio State. All worth $20 million.
No team has spent more NIL money than Ohio State. No coach in the country has heard more calls to hire him than Ryan Day. No team has more to lose or prove in the first-ever expansion College Football Playoff.
“We're still breathing, we're still alive,” Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork said last week. Per ESPN. “The season isn't over yet. The book isn't closed yet.”
That's how it felt after Ohio State's abhorrent performance against unranked Michigan in the final week of the regular season.
Ohio State had only 252 yards and 10 scores on the day, while signal caller Will Howard finished with 175 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
For every punch thrown, the Buckeyes received two more. On your face.
It was such a lackluster performance that even Ohio lawmakers felt compelled to step in and intervene.
This is the same Ohio State team that entered the Rivalry Week matchup at 10-1, and the same team that defeated both No. 5 Indiana State and No. 3 Penn State just a few weeks ago. That seemed unbelievable.
And no one took this loss more personally than the head coach.
“Other than losing my dad and a few other things, it's honestly the worst thing that's happened to my family,” Day told Columbus-based television station WBNS.
And while in past seasons that would have been a death blow to the Buckeyes' season, with the playoffs expanded from four teams to 12 teams, national title hopes remain.
If Ohio State can beat the Volunteers on Saturday, the blow of the Michigan loss will be greatly alleviated.
And if the Buckeyes can defeat the Ducks' remaining undefeated FBS team in a week's time, the calls for Day's job will become a distant memory.
Ohio State enters the 2024 season looking to win a national championship. Given the reportedly star-studded roster, Obtains $20 million in NIL fundingis the most common in Japan, and anything less than that is considered underachieving.
And for Day, who has had to contend with accusations that he and his team aren't built to win big games during all six seasons at the helm of the program, has never been louder.
But the season isn't over. The book is not closed.
Saturday is a new day.
