Ryan Day Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day prepares to take the field prior to the NCAA football game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024.

Ohio State may have won on Saturday, but the Buckeyes didn’t look impressive in victory. Ryan Day felt the wrath of Ohio State fans even while the team celebrated a win.

The Buckeyes welcomed freshman sensation Dylan Raiola and the Nebraska Cornhuskers to Columbus. While the Buckeyes are certainly more talented than the Huskers, they didn’t really play like it.

Ohio State survived and won 21-17 after defensive back Jordan Hancock intercepted Raiola on their final drive.

But that didn’t mean that Day escaped the furor from Ohio State fans.

Ohio State is in an interesting place. They’re almost too good to fail, but they’re not good enough to succeed how they want to. They’ve gone the last ten years without a National Championship in football despite recruiting and talent at higher levels than ever before. Fans have routinely placed the blame on Day and his coaching staff. It’s only become exacerbated with three consecutive losses to arch-rival Michigan.

The Buckeyes were primed to contend for a National Championship this season. They still may, but Ohio State lost to Oregon two weeks ago in Eugene. The now-top-ranked Ducks edged the Buckeyes 32-31. While it was a thrilling game, for many Buckeye fans, it was another unsettling reminder of the issues Day and his teams have had against AP Top 5 teams. Against the nation’s elite, Ohio State may be winning recruiting battles, but it hasn’t come together on the scoreboard. Wins are wins, but Saturday was another brutal day for the Ohio State head coach.

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About Chris Novak

Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022