Ryan Day stood in front of a live Big Ten Network audience and a football field full of journalists in July and essentially declared the 2021 Ohio State football season a failure.
“Maybe at some places 11–2 with a Rose Bowl victory is a good year. It isn’t at Ohio State,” the coach of the Buckeyes said. “Our three goals are: beat the team up north, win the Big Ten championship, win the national championship. That’s our goals, and those things didn’t happen last year.”
It was a remarkable statement. It articulated both admirable ambition and unsettling urgency. Daring to be the best can be a good thing, but the consequences of falling short can be stark.
