Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day has lost his last three games against the archrival Michigan Wolverines, and some recent comments he made about preparing for the game have earned him some criticism from college football analyst Paul Finebaum.
During a recent appearance on Get Up, Ryan Day spoke on how his team is focusing on the showdown with Michigan that will take place at the end of November.
“I think probably one of the biggest struggles that we have is that when you, when you lose a game like that, you have to wait a whole another year to get back into that game,” Day said.
“And you know, for our guys who decided to come back – we had about 12 guys that made the decision to come back – that was one of the big reasons why they decided to come back. But what we have to do is build every day and grow every day and count on the work that we’re doing on a daily basis. That’s gonna matter as we get to the end of the season.”
However, Day seemed concerned that his players might become a little too focused on that one particular game.
“And you know, what we can’t do is get too far ahead of ourselves and start to focus too much on that and get distracted. That’s just the bottom line. But when you come to Ohio State, you gotta win that game,” Day said.
But Finebaum was not impressed with these comments from Day as he did not hold back his criticism of the Phio State head coach.
“I have no idea what he’s talking about,” Finebaum said. “I mean, he’s lost that game three years in a row and he’s talking about how he’s, his players are motivated to come back and play. Well, I heard that three years ago, two years ago and last year. And you, you stunk in all three games. I mean, what are you talking about?”
“And here’s the problem with talking about Ryan Day, you look at his record,” Finebaum continued. “It’s gaudy. Nobody has a record like him. Except you can’t choke the biggest game of the year. And to me, if he can’t beat Michigan this year when he’s got probably the best team in the country along with Georgia after Harbaugh leaves after all those great players depart after a national championship, he ought to be gone.
“I mean, that, that is as simple as that. That’s the biggest game of the year in the Big Ten. And I realize that Ohio State played for a national championship a couple of years ago against Alabama only lost by 28 points. They’ve been to the playoffs, but that program hasn’t won a national championship since 2014 when Urban Meyer was there.”
Finebaum wants Day to “quit making excuses.”
