Ohio State Buckeyes' Ryan Day Receives Stern Warning From Analyst

Is Ohio State Buckeyes coach Ryan Day on the hot seat heading into 2024?

Mar 7, 2024; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day watches players stretch during spring football practice at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

Overall, Ryan Day has done a fine job as Ohio State Buckeyes head coach. As a matter of fact, he owns the highest winning percentage among all active college football coaches, boasting an impressive record of 56-8.

However, there are absolutely some warts on Day's resume.

First and foremost, Ohio State has lost three straight meetings to the Michigan Wolverines under his direction. That is unacceptable in Columbus. Plus, the Buckeyes haven't had a whole lot of success in bowl games in Day's tenure, going just 2-4.

So, just how much pressure is Day facing heading into 2024?

ESPN's Paul Finebaum thinks that his job could be on the line.

“But if he loses to Michigan and then suffers an early loss in the playoffs, I wouldn’t be surprised if he got fired, in spite of his record," Finebaum said on McElroy and Cubelic In the Morning.

Day has gone 39-3 against Big Ten opponents, meaning he has not lost to a non-Michigan squad within the conference. The 39-0 in all of those other games (including a win over the Wolverines in 2019) is mighty impressive. But the three consecutive defeats at the hands of Michigan almost make those other wins inconsequential.

A legitimate argument can be made that beating Michigan is every bit as important—if not more important—than winning a national title in Buckeyes country.

Prior to 2021, Ohio State had won eight straight meetings with the Wolverines. The script has obviously flipped since then, and Day has been at the center of it.

The Buckeyes lay claim to arguably the most talented roster in the country this season. Meanwhile, Michigan is in a quasi-rebuild after losing head coach Jim Harbaugh and quarterback J.J. McCarthy to the NFL.

Perhaps Ohio State will finally ends its losing skid to the Wolverines and win its first national championship since the 2014-15 campaign in the process.

If Day can at least do one of those things, his job in Columbus is almost certainly safe.