Lou Holtz takes another shot at Ryan Day ahead of National Championship game

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There's no question that Ohio State fans are eagerly awaiting the national championship matchup with Notre Dame on Monday, Jan. 20. But while the excitement surrounding a potential championship is real in Columbus, so is the ever present reminder of that loss to Michigan back on Nov. 30. It wasn't all that long ago that #FireRyanDay was trending on social media, and it was the Buckeye faithful who were leading in that effort. And while it would seem odd to want to fire a coach with such an incredible overall record, it was Day's lack of success against the Wolverines (now 1-4) that was causing unrest within the Buckeye fanbase. But a successful playoff run can often change minds, and that's exactly what seems to have happened for Ryan Day and Ohio State.

While Ohio State fans seem to have abandoned their #FireRyanDay efforts in the midst of an incredible playoff run, former Notre Dame head coach Lou Holtz isn't ready to forget effort by the Buckeye faithful. In fact, Holtz recently shared a hilarious post to his Twitter/X account, claiming that Notre Dame would only lose to preserve Ryan Day's job.

"If Notre Dame doesn't win, it's because we want to preserve Ryan Day's job," wrote Holtz. "I was originally going to be at the game in spirit, but now I'll be dragging my body along as well."

Of course, the hilarious feud between Day and Holtz began back in 2023 when Holtz questioned the toughness of the Buckeye program ahead of the early season matchup with the Irish. In his critique of the Buckeyes, Holtz singled out Day's struggles against top talent.

“He has lost to Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, Michigan twice — and everybody who beats them does so because they’re more physical than Ohio State. I think Notre Dame will take that same approach," Holtz said before the 2023 matchup.

Ultimately Ohio State would go on to win that game against Notre Dame, and Day used his postgame interview to fire back at Holtz.

“I’d like to know where Lou Holtz is right now,” Day said after the win. “What he said about our team, I cannot believe. This is a tough team right here.”

In recent days, Day made it clear that he had not spoken to Holtz since that exchange back in 2023. But given the latest comments from the former Irish head coach, it's clear that neither side has any intention of patching things up.

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Chris Breiler
CHRIS BREILER

Christopher Breiler launched Winged Helmet Media and began covering the Michigan Football program in an unofficial capacity in 2017. He then joined Wolverine Digest as part of the FanNation network in 2021 as a contributing writer, where he served as both a writer and a photographer on game days. In 2024, he took over as the Managing Editor for Michigan Wolverines On SI. His love for Michigan Football brought him into the industry, and his passion for being a content creator has led to some amazing experiences along the way.