
When Ohio State beat Notre Dame 34–23 on Jan. 20 to win college football's national championship, the big individual winner was understood to be Buckeyes coach Ryan Day.
He'd defied doubts from his own fanbase to steer his team through a buzzsaw four-game stretch in the College Football Playoff, shaking off a bitter loss to Michigan in the regular-season finale. His protracted victory lap felt earned, and yet the entire saga diminished the complexity of Day's story.