Nick Saban has had enough of Ryan Day’s detractors.
If Day is able to lead Ohio State to the national championship tonight, it would be a tremendous turnaround for the sixth-year head coach. Day entered the season under fire from Buckeyes fans, and when the program suffered a shocking loss to Michigan in its regular season finale, the pitchforks were out. Day, who hasn’t won a national title yet and has lost four straight to the Wolverines, had to do.
Since then, OSU has ripped off three impressive wins in the College Football Playoff, earning them a date with Notre Dame in the CFP National Championship tonight.
Ahead of kickoff, Saban ripped into Day’s critics during ESPN’s College GameDay pregame show.
Nick Saban: “I think it is absolutely ridiculous that Ryan Day has been criticized the way he has…” 🏈🎙️ #CFP pic.twitter.com/EILHFTRtxo
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 20, 2025
“I think it is absolutely ridiculous that Ryan Day has been criticized the way he has,” Saban said. “Having been a coach, having coached Ohio State and having lived in the state for 12 or 14 years, I’m telling you, when the fans are negative and the media gets negative, it affects so many things.
“You know, you got to give the guy credit, he built the roster. He’s built the roster for three years, and it’s gotten better. His coaches have made the players better. And they’ve made a lot of improvement, and they’ve overcome adversity. Especially in the Michigan game. So, we should be giving the guy credit and being positive because every time you’re negative it affects recruiting, it affects everything that you do. And he’s been able to overcome the naysayers and still get to the national championship game. And win or lose, that guy deserves respect.”
It’s true Day has taken a lot of hear, but we’re not sure if the negativity has impacted recruiting as much as Saban says it has.
Ohio State is still humming in that department.
As for winning tonight, well, it would certainly take a lot of weight off of Day’s back. He would become the most recent coach to lead Ohio State to a national title, replacing his predecessor Urban Meyer, who accomplished the feat 10 years ago.
Ohio State and Notre Dame just kicked off in Atlanta. It should be a good one.
[ Awful Announcing ]
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