Ohio State helmet Syndication: The Columbus Dispatch

The Ohio State Buckeyes are coming off a National Championship victory. As great as that should be for the program, it doesn’t entirely erase the stain of losing to their bitter rival, the Michigan Wolverines, for the fourth consecutive season.

In Columbus, Ohio, failing to defeat Michigan means the season was a failure in some capacity, regardless of accolades. This is especially true when it means that a graduating class of seniors will have never earned their pair of gold pants, a decorative necklace given to each player on the team after beating the Wolverines.

Head coach Ryan Day and his family learned just how important the rivalry is after the loss.

“The time between the Michigan game and the Tennessee game was as low and dark as you could possibly imagine,” Nina Day, Ryan Day’s wife told the Columbus Dispatch. “Extremely negative. Unprecedented hate.

“They told me multiple times to have Ryan follow in his father’s footsteps and kill himself.”

With so much on the line in Columbus, and coaches having to deal with such an unhinged fanbase, one coach appears to have had enough.

People were interested in these podcasts
Play Episode
57min
The Play-By-Play
ESPN fires RG3 and Sam Ponder, Ariel Helwani partners with Yahoo, Mina Kimes vs. Clay Travis
On the first episode of The Play-By-Play, Awful Announcing's Brendon Kleen and Ben Axelrod discuss ESPN firing Robert Griffin III and Sam Ponder, Ariel Helwani announcing that he's partnering with Yahoo Sports and the social media feud between ESPN's Mina Kimes and Clay Travis.Time Stamps:-:06: Welcome to The Play-By-Play!-3:03: Podcasting-18:49: Ariel Helwani partners with Yahoo Sports-33:51: Mina Kimes vs. Clay Travis-47:00: WWE superstar Sheamus is College GameDay's first celebrity guest picker of the season.-50:49: Stephen A. Smith interviews Tom Brady at Fanatics FestYou can subscribe to The Play-By-Play wherever podcasts are found. Please subscribe, rate and review! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Play-By-Play
Loving Dan Hurley, Shohei Ohtani 'Face of MLB,' Gen Z and sports
Dan Hurley rubs many the wrong way, so is that why he's great for college basketball? Is Shohei Ohtani the face of Major League Baseball. Are the lack of Cinderellas really what's destroying college basketball. Awful Announcing's Ben Axelrod and Brendon Kleen discuss these topics and more, including an in-depth discussion with Morning Consult's Ellyn Briggs on how Gen Z consumes sports, on the latest episode of The Play-By-Play.Time Stamps:-1:04: No Cinderellas in March Madness-21:11: Ellyn Briggs joins the show-21:39: Best way to summarize how Gen Z consumes sports-24:57: Gen Z having a strong connection to athletes, going to games-29:49: NIL and Gen Z-31:22: Sports going away from a made-for-TV product?-34:17: Gen Z and Gen-Alpha sports participation-37:13: Public reaction to Jackie Robinson article temporarily taken down-42:30: Women’s sports fans supporting activism among players-46:33: LIV Golf/Saudi Arabia and sportswashing-50:20: What has to happen for a new league to work in 2025?-54:48: Dan Hurley-57:48: Shohei Ohtani as the “Face of MLB”You can subscribe to The Play-By-Play wherever podcasts are found. Please subscribe, rate and review!Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Play-By-Play
NBA negativity, Caitlin Clark's TIME interview, Bill Belichick to UNC
Sports media is overwhelmingly negative about the NBA. Conservatives take issue on Caitlin Clark's TIME Athlete of the Year interview. Bill Belichick is going to coach for the Tar Heels. Awful Announcing's Ben Axelrod and Brendon Kleen discuss these topics and more on the latest episode of The Play-By-Play.Time Stamps:-1:00: Negativity from sports media world on NBA-27:17: Bill Belichick going to UNC-36:06: Mike Florio suggesting Bears trade for Kyle Shanahan-41:18: College football calendar issues-45:53: Caitlin Clark’s Time interview reactions-54:11: Dave Pasch profile-56:17: Aaron Rodgers’ Netflix docuseriesYou can subscribe to The Play-By-Play wherever podcasts are found. Please subscribe, rate and review!Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Play-By-Play
Looking back at 2024 in sports media, Awfulies winners with Sean Keeley
As 2024 closes, we take a look back at the year in sports media with our year-end awards, The Awfulies. Awful Announcing's Sean Keeley, who compiled this year's results, talks about some of the winners with Play-By-Play hosts Ben Axelrod and Brendon Kleen.Time Stamps:-:54: Remembering 2024 in sports media-7:33 Sports Media Person of the Year - Tom Brady-12:28: Best Moment of 2024 - Pat McAfee calling Norby Williamson a “rat”/Jeff Darlington covering Scottie Scheffler’s arrest-17:50: Best Play-By-Play Announcer - Kevin Harlan-22:01: Best Studio Analyst - Charles Barkley-24:06: Best Debator - Chris Russo-27:49: Best Acquisition - Nick Saban-31:43: Best Debate Show - “First Things First”-38:06: Best Sports Documentary - “Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants”-40:16: Best Broadcast Innovation - Peacock Gold Zone-42:48: Recapping the rest of the winnersYou can subscribe to The Play-By-Play wherever podcasts are found. Please subscribe, rate and review!Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Sources: Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles is finalizing a three-year deal to become the new defensive coordinator at Penn State. It averages $3.1 million over three years,” reported ESPN’s Pete Thamel on Sunday.

While the exact reasoning behind the departure of one of Ohio State’s top assistants has not been revealed, it’s hard to imagine that fans’ immense pressure put on the program didn’t play a part.

About Qwame Skinner

Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. At Next Impulse, Qwame covers sports with the same enthusiasm he brings to his recreational basketball and softball leagues.