To say Ryan Day had a bit of a redemption tour during the College Football Playoff run to a national title would be a significant understatement. After beating Michigan during his first season as the Ohio State football head coach in 2019, he’s yet to duplicate that feat, going 0-4 since then.
Not only that, but the talking point was that he couldn’t win the biggest of games, having lost in three College Football Playoff appearances previously and losing some marquee matchups during the regular season along the way as well.
However, the narrative has been flipped on its head after Day steered Ohio State past four top ten teams en route to the national title and now he’s one of just a handful of current FBS coaches still around that have a national title hanging around their necks.
Because of that, how he is perceived has changed around home and the country, and that’s reflected in the latest ESPN college head coaching rankings. In fact, there’s just one coach ranked ahead of Day who occupies the No. 2 slot. Only Kirby Smart at Georgia, with his two national championships, multiple SEC titles and College Football Playoff appearances, sits ahead of Day.
For Day, the numbers are awfully impressive — aside from the Michigan losses. He has a 70-10 overall record, two Big Ten titles, four College Football Playoff appearances, two national title game appearances, and of course, the national championship from last season.
Behind Day and rounding out the top ten are Dabo Swinney (3) of Clemson, Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman (4), Steve Sarkisian (5) of Texas, Oregon’s Dan Lanning (6), Kalen DeBoer (7) of Alabama, Penn State’s James Franklin (8), Kyle Whittingham (9) of Utah, and Iowa State’s Matt Campbell (10).
No, Michigan fans, Sherrone Moore is not listed.
You have to wonder if Day is able to steer Ohio State to another national championship this season, if he vaults ahead of Smart. That’s putting the Buckeye tree before the seed, but you get the idea. Here’s to hoping that OSU has another run in it this coming fall.
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