Offseason hype for Ohio State talent only adds to Ryan Day’s hot seat

Ohio State football fans are no joke. Every season in Columbus comes with a few goals. They want to win the National Championship, of course. They want to win the Big Ten, of course. But above all else, Buckeye fans, players, coaches and media want to beat Michigan at the conclusion of the regular season.

After suffering a 30-24 defeat at the hands of Jim Harbaugh's Wolverines last season, Ohio State has now dropped three consecutive games to their rivals for the first time in over 25 years.

Ryan Day's career coaching record moved to 56-8 after last season. Plenty of schools in the country would kill to go on a 56-8 stretch. But adding context to Buckeye fans will cause those eight losses to feel like 100.

Of those eight losses, four are in Bowl games. Day's record of 2-4 in bowl games is nothing to call home about. Of the remaining four losses, three of them have come against Michigan. Day's record against Michigan sits at 1-3, which is almost a fireable offense following Urban Meyer and Jim Tressel's 16-1 combined record against their rivals.

Ryan Day can't afford another disappointing season with all the talent on roster

This season could truly be make or break time for Ryan Day as the Buckeye head coach. Everything is seemingly going his way, albeit, he's done a tremendous job of recruiting both high schoolers and transfers to the Buckeyes.

But, add in the departure of Jim Harbaugh, JJ McCarthy and Blake Corum, among others, from Michigan, and Ohio State really has no excuse to lose to them again in 2024.

Add in the fact that Ohio State has more preseason All-American's than any school in the country and the pressure gets even greater on the Buckeye head coach.

Named to the Walter Camp preseason All-American list were cornerback Denzel Burke, defensive tackle Tyliek Williams, wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, defensive back Caleb Downs and running back Quinshon Judkins.

This list of preseason All-Americans doesn't even include a plethora of other Buckeye talent that will enter the draft next season. The likes of Treyveon Henderson, Jack Sawyer, JT Tuimoloau and Sonny Styles were left off the list, yet are some of the country's best talents at their positions.

The 2024 Buckeye football team may be the most talented and complete roster in the last decade. I wouldn't necessarily call it "National Championship or bust", but I sure would question Ryan Day's place with the Buckeyes if he can't get the job done against his rival again this season.