Ole Miss' Lane Kiffin throws shade at Ohio State, Ryan Day after Buckeyes spend big on roster

After three straight losses to Michigan, and watching the Wolverines win a national championship, the Buckeyes went "all in" on the 2024 season...

Matt Lounsberry | Aug 26, 2024

Dec 29, 2023; Arlington, Texas, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day watches during the second quarter of the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic against the Missouri Tigers at AT&T Stadium. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

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Michigan Wolverines

Michigan winning the 2023 national championship may have been the best thing that could have ever happened for Ohio State University's NIL fundraising efforts.

After three straight defeats at the hands of the Wolverines, and watching U-M's natty celebration parade in Ann Arbor, Buckeye head coach Ryan Day raised $20 million to spend on his 2024 roster, according to a report from ESPN. As he is apt to do, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin threw some shade in Ohio State's director on social media, sharing the story on his personal Twitter page. One of the players the Buckeyes spent big money on in the transfer portal was former Ole Miss running back Quinshon Judkins, who led the Rebels and the SEC in rushing each of the past two seasons.

How Ohio State built a $20 million, 'national championship or bust' roster - via @ESPN App https://t.co/HF9OAXKRf3
— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) August 26, 2024

In addition to Judkins, Ohio State grabbed Alabama safety Caleb Downs and quarterback Julian Sayin out of the portal, as well as former Kansas State starting QB Will Howard out of the transfer portal. Howard was named the Buckeyes' starter earlier this month. There's no doubt Ohio State's fundraising and talent acquisition efforts were fueled by Michigan's national championship last season. Former Buckeye players Cardale Jones and Tyvis Powell, each of whom play big roles in Ohio State's two largest NIL collectives, said as much in the ESPN report:

Both Powell and Jones, former teammates, said losing to the Wolverines again and then witnessing them win a national championship lit a fire under more people's butts to get involved in giving to NIL.

"This was the first year that people were very generous donating money to collectives," said Powell, the defensive MVP of the Buckeyes national title win over Oregon in 2014. "There's something about watching your rival win it all that's very inspiring to a lot of people. It was like, that can't happen anymore."
- ESPN

Heading into the 2024 season, beating Michigan and ending the Wolverines' three-year reign atop the Big Ten isn't just the goal for Ohio State — it's the expectation. After spending $20 million on its roster and more than half of that more on its coaching staff, it's national title or bust for the Buckeyes in 2024. Former OSU head coach Jim Tressell called this maybe the best roster in the history of the program, and Urban Meyer said it was arguably the best roster in all of college football over the past decade. If Ryan Day can't get it done this season, with everything that's at his disposal, when will it ever happen for him in Columbus?

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