ATLANTA — Fifty-one days ago, Ryan Day stood frozen as the victorious (again) Michigan Wolverines planted a flag in the middle of Ohio Stadium. All around him were tears and jeers and calls for his job. Players fought. Pepper spray wafted through the air.
It felt apoplectic then.
It is national champions now.
In one of college football’s great reversals of fortune, Ohio State shook off that dreadful loss to their archrivals, took advantage of the second chance the sport’s newly expanded playoff provided, and challenged themselves to be better in every way.
That started with their coach, who as bad he coached then, has been equally as brilliant since, peeling off a playoff run to win it all.
The Buckeyes capped it with a 34-23 victory over a never-quit Notre Dame team here on Monday; this time leaving Buckeye flags flapping and Buckeye fans (some of whom roasted Day seven weeks ago) roaring. The cries were of joy now, not confusion and disappointment.
This was the latest playoff example of what this Ohio State team was all about — tough and talented and when properly focused, almost unbeatable. They had the best roster in the country and it showed once Day was able to get the Michigan loss behind him and get out of his team’s way.
Credit Notre Dame for coming and coming, pushing back to make this a nervous affair until the very end. Then credit the Buckeyes for not buckling to that pressure.
What happened (and keeps happening) against Michigan can be addressed at another time — and certainly next November in Ann Arbor.
That Day didn’t let that loss cost him the season though is a coaching victory unto itself. He was dreadful back in November against Michigan — paralyzed during the game trying to be the tougher team, paralyzed postgame by the carnage that ensued.
But credit him with this: From rockbottom, he found his footing. They like to use a motto in Columbus: “Ohio vs. Everybody.” In this case — if you listened to talk radio or social media — it was Ohio vs. its own coach. But in a way, that just cemented things.
”We had some honest conversations, man,” running back TreVeyon Henderson said. “The biggest thing is when we came together as a team.”
“That was really just a test to our brotherhood,” defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau said.
“That Ohio-against-the-world mantra, that’s kind of what we try to embody,” quarterback Will Howard said.
The world didn’t stand a chance. Ohio State blew the doors off Tennessee and Oregon, won a battle with Texas, and then stepped on Notre Dame here. Where the talk shows were once filled with complaints and Ohio Stadium grandstands filled with Volunteer Orange, there was nothing but a party here.
To the winners go the narratives.
For Day, this was a vindication. Maybe not fully, but certainly more than anyone could ask. He rose from small college quarterback to Urban Meyer’s replacement because of his creative play-calling and relentless recruiting.
He took over Ohio State at age 39, with tons of momentum in the program but still plenty to learn on the job. The lessons continue, but the title ring on his finger — Ohio State’s first since 2014 — answers plenty of questions. He’s now 70-10 as a head coach.
This is his program now; his national championship program.
The Buckeyes of Monday night were the Buckeyes of playing free and confident, of concentrating on doing what they do best and not getting drawn into the rock fight that the game-but-less-skilled Irish wanted.
The Irish’s 18-play, 9:45 opening touchdown drive was something out of their dreams, but Ohio State just shrugged and responded with an 11-play TD push of their own. Then the Buckeyes scored again and again and again.
The array of weapons is breathtaking — Jeremiah Smith, Emeka Egbuka (who became the school’s all-time leader in receptions), the running back duo of Henderson and Quinshon Judkins and on and on.
Howard sat back with time and distributed, leaving Notre Dame with little hope … all while the Buckeye defense that had been stout all season did what was expected.
The Irish kept pushing and pushing, making it at interesting in the fourth quarter with a touchdown and two-point conversion to cut it to a one-score game. But in the end, Ohio State held strong, sealing it with a short field goal after a deep catch by freshman star Jeremiah Smith.
This was a product of a Buckeye roster chock-full of returning, experienced talent. NIL money — to the tune of a reported $20 million — certainly played a role, but you don’t get this many guys to forgo the NFL Draft and chase a national title unless you’ve built a strong culture. You don’t get them to delay their professional dream unless they believe in their coach.
That speaks to something that goes far beyond play-calling or game-planning.
In the end, it was enough to weather the storm of November.
And set off a party in Atlanta that few saw coming.
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