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Ohio State's Ryan Day Ranked Seventh Best College Head Coach by Pro Football Focus

Michigan's Jim Harbaugh, Georgia's Kirby Smart and Alabama's Nick Saban are among the six coaches slotted ahead of Day on PFF's list.

Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day was named the seventh-best head coach in college football on Friday, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF).

Day was one of four Big Ten coaches on PFF's list, along with Luke Fickell of Wisconsin at No. 9, James Franklin of Penn State at No. 10 and Matt Rhule of Nebraska at No. 25. Two future coaches in the conference were also in the top-25 club: USC's Lincoln Riley was No. 5 and UCLA's Chip Kelly was No. 21.

One of the reasons Day was not placed higher on the list was his record against Michigan, the Buckeyes' arch-rival. The Buckeyes have lost two years in a row to the Wolverines under Day's watch, which hasn't happened in over two decades.

Overall, Day has only a single win and two losses against Michigan over his four years at the helm, keeping in mind that the Maize and Blue canceled their trip to Ohio Stadium in 2020 due to positive COVID-19 tests within their program.

Ohio State has also missed out on the Big Ten Conference Championship during the last pair of seasons, both of which went to Harbaugh and the Wolverines.

With Urban Meyer as a predecessor and measuring stick, Day certainly has had some high expectations since he was elevated from assistant to head coach in December 2018. That being said, the talent he has had run through the program in his short time in the driver's seat has put Ohio State in a position to win every year of his tenure.

It remains to be seen how this year's team will shape out in terms of the squad's depth chart.

One thing is for certain, however: Day will have plenty of eyes on him during the 2023-24 season.


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