Ryan Day faces high expectations entering a crucial 2024 season for his Ohio State Buckeyes.
Although Day has only lost eight of 64 games as Ohio State’s head coach, three came against Michigan in the last three seasons. Paul Finebaum addressed the obvious when laying out the pressure Day faces to reverse that trend and chase the program’s first national championship in a decade.
“Nobody in the country, including Georgia, has a better roster per se than Ohio State,” Finebaum said on Tuesday’s Get Up, per On3’s Sam Gillenwater. “I think it’s essential that they find a way not only to beat Michigan but to go far. This isn’t a team that just gets in the playoff and is satisfied.”
Finebaum called it “critical” for Day to beat the Wolverines on Nov. 30.
“You can’t survive as the Ohio State coach and lose four straight to Michigan, especially when, this year, you clearly have the better team,” Finebaum declared.
Heather Dinich concurred that Day is facing “enormous pressure” to defeat Michigan and lead Ohio State to a title. The ESPN reporter also agreed that the Buckeyes have a better roster than their Big Ten nemesis.
“The weight of the world is on his shoulders, but he knows this,” Dinich said of Day. “I’ve talked to him every offseason about this for about the past three years. He told me there’s noise out there. They’re not trying to focus on that.”
Day spoke to Mike Greenberg in a separate Get Up segment. The head coach discussed the conference’s elevated competition after welcoming USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Washington from the Pac-12.
“Every time you’re getting a win in the Big Ten, it’s a win that matters. The physicality of the Big Ten is as strong as it’s ever been,” Day said. “And now you add in four teams from out west that have great backgrounds. They’ve done very, very well.
“We’re excited to add them into the conference. I think that now, when you look at the 18 teams that are in the Big Ten, it’s gonna be a battle week in and week out.”
Related: Ryan Day Has Message For Michigan Heading Into 2024 Season