Ohio State coach Ryan Day was not taking any chances following his team’s loss to Michigan at the end of the regular season.
According to the Athletic, security personnel were stationed at Day’s house in the days after the Buckeyes’ loss. Ohio State lost 13-10 at home to the Wolverines to miss out on a chance to play for the Big Ten title. It was the fourth straight defeat for Ohio State against their hated rivals.
From the Athletic:
In late November, after Ohio State lost to archrival Michigan for the fourth consecutive time — at home, as a three-touchdown favorite — this moment seemed unfathomable to perhaps everyone other than the Buckeyes themselves. Day’s family, especially the coach’s three children, took the brunt of some Ohio State fans’ anger at losing to the hated Wolverines again. Threats were made that led to the Days receiving around-the-clock police protection.
“We had security at our house. School was really bad,” Day’s son R.J., a high school sophomore, told The Athletic. “I didn’t really leave the house much ’til after the Tennessee game (three weeks after the Michigan game, in the CFP first round). It was rough, but you’ve gotta hang on in those rough times because eventually things will turn back around again.”
The rhetoric after the Michigan loss was hot, especially after a postgame brawl after Michigan players tried to plant a flag on the field. Day’s job was even publicly questioned by some because of his record against Michigan despite his overall success. Ohio State has lost just 10 times in 80 games under Day and four of those defeats have been to Michigan. But that record against the Wolverines doesn’t even come close to excusing why someone would issue threats against a head coach.
It’s clear that Day is staying as Ohio State’s coach now. And any Michigan-related heat should cool off for quite some time. The Buckeyes entered the first 12-team College Football Playoff as the No. 8 seed and won each of its postseason games by two possessions on the way to the team’s first national title in a decade on Monday night. Ohio State beat Notre Dame 34-23 to cap one of the most remarkable turnarounds in recent college football memory.
Ohio State fans were morose after the regular season. They’re now jubilant.
“What makes Ohio State great is its fan base, and for all those fans that are out there that are going through difficult times in their lives, to hang in there and fight the way that our players did this season, I hope it serves as an inspiration because that’s exactly what happened here,” Day said in his news conference after the Notre Dame win. “And there was a point in the season where a lot of people counted us out, but we kept fighting and overcame those odds because that’s what life is about.”
“There were life lessons learned here, andI hope maybe there’s just a couple people out there that are going through a difficult time that keep fighting and keep swinging and they’ll get the thing turned.”
