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.
“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. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.