Despite a 45–6 record in four seasons as Ohio State coach after taking over for Urban Meyer, Ryan Day faces significant criticism from a loud segment of the Buckeyes fanbase. The biggest reason: two of those six losses have come at the hands of Michigan, Ohio State’s primary rival and a team that was winless against the Buckeyes under Meyer. The Wolverines broke the streak, which dated back to 2011, with a 42–27 win in ’21, and followed it up with a 45–23 win last season.
Day, who has reached the College Football Playoff three times in four years after being promoted from offensive coordinator, is still searching for his first national title with the program, but the team has been in contention for virtually his entire tenure. On Tuesday, two prominent members of the Ohio State community threw their support behind Day: former Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel and former quarterback-turned-ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit.
Speaking to the The Blade at an event in northwest Ohio, Tressel said that “Ryan has done a great job,” while Herbstreit got far more colorful, calling out what he calls the “lunatic fringe,” an estimated 15% of Ohio State fans that he says “get mad at anything.”
