Buckeyes Win Would Complete Meteoric Redemption Story For Ryan Day

There Ryan Day stood, despondent asking his players "what happened?" in aftermath of a devastating 13-10 loss to Michigan at Ohio Stadium.

What had happened was a group of Wolverine players had tried to plant the team's flag at midfield, something star defensive end, and Ohio native Jack Sawyer simply was not having. A brawl broke out between the two teams and pepper spray was deployed in what went down as one of the worst moments in the history of the rivalry.

Day seemed clueless to it all. Lost in his own mental maze trying to process how his juggernaut team had fumbled that game for a fourth straight year. The blank stare of on his face not only felt like it was destined to serve as the a defining image of an absolute failure of a season, in the moment it seemed as though it may be the lasting image of Day's tenure with the program.

The weeks that followed were reportedly some of the darkest of Day's time with Ohio State. Literal threats from some overly emotional fans forced the Buckeyes head man to hire extra security at his house to keep his family safe.

That was coupled with, expectedly, large sects of the fan base calling for Day to be fired after yet another lost to Michigan, and roster with $20 million in NIL pumped into it wasted. Fans were done with Day, radio hosts (like myself) were done with day, the national media was done with Day.

The program had hit an all-time low on his watch. A trip to the playoff still loomed large, but there was no coming back from rock bottom.

Then a powerful team meeting happened – something confirmed by numerous players in recent weeks, including Cotton Bowl hero Jack Sawyer in his emotional Player's Tribune letter. Those honest conversations presented a fork in the road. The Buckeyes could accept what everyone was writing and saying about them and go out sad in the College Football Playoff. Or they could learn from it, and let it fuel their run to the championship game.

They chose the latter. Blowout wins over Tennessee and Oregon followed. Then a more competitive showdown with Texas, that felt like a statement from Ohio State. In the past, those down-to-the-wire games seemed to bring out the worst in Day. This time, the moment wasn't too big and his group found a way to finish.

A different Ryan Day emerged from that post-Michigan meeting. And just as adversity has seemingly changed him, so too have the narratives about him changed.

Suddenly the calls for his job have been reduced to a whisper. That'll happen when you your response to the worst loss in program history is a run to the National Championship game. It's a truly remarkable sports story, but may pale in comparison to the redemption story Day is currently writing.

In just 50 days, Day has gone from being persona non grata in Columbus and needing extra security at his house to being 60 minutes away from never having to complimentary food and drinks for life in Ohio. It's hard to find a meteoric sports redemption arc quite like this one.

If Buckeyes finish things off against Notre Dame on Monday night, that embarrassing image of a lifeless Day, hands on his hips, confused by what was going on around him will be replaced by the endless shots of Day hoisting the championship trophy.

They say pictures speak 1,000 words. There will be plenty of tales to tell to bridge the gap between those two images. If it happens, of course.