Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day has the highest winning percentage of any coach in the Big Ten and has led his team to the College Football Playoff three times in his five seasons. But he’s still facing a lot of pressure heading into the upcoming season.
This week, college football analyst Jesse Simonton of On3 put together a list of the Big Ten coaches facing the most pressure heading into the upcoming college football season. According to Simonton’s list, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day is facing an “extreme” amount of pressure as he put him at the top of the list.
“Extreme? For a coach who’s 56-8? Yup. That’s the unique pressure cooker Day faces after losing to Michigan three times in a row and seeing their rival Team Up North win the championship in 2023,” Simonton wrote.
“Ohio State has pushed its chips all-in on this season, loading up on some of the top transfers in the portal and bringing back close to a dozen starters with NFL futures. If Day, who is stepping away from play-calling duties and is taking a more CEO approach to his role as head coach, can’t deliver a Big Ten title — and more — with this roster then he’ll face a fever-pitch of criticism and heat.”
It’s obviously pretty wild to think about a coach with the best winning percentage in the conference losing his job, but that’s a situation that Simonton thinks Day is facing this season.
“Lose to Michigan again and it could cost him his job — something that might seem impossible for a head coach with fewer than double-digit career defeats,” Simonton said.
It feels like it’s national championship or bust for Day and Ohio State this season.
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