Ryan Day has no room for error in 2024 after transfer portal spending spree

The Ohio State Buckeyes have to be on the shortlist of college football teams who can realistically win the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff next season. They may have lost to Michigan for the third year in a row and looked completely dreadful offensively vs. Missouri in the Cotton Bowl, but this year's team is built to win, baby! All it means is Ryan Day better win or he is going into the Olentangy...

Since scoring precisely three points in Arlington vs. Mizzou, Ohio State has gotten more and more and more and more resources and support than any progam out there in the Power Five. The Buckeyes landed Kansas State starting quarterback Will Howard and Ole Miss running back Quinshon Judkins in the transfer portal. They also hired Bill O'Brien to be their offensive coordinator.

Many top players who could have declared for the 2024 NFL Draft are returning. Everyone from running back TreVeyon Henderson, wide receiver Emeka Egbuka and edge rushers Jack Sawyer and JT Tiumoloau are coming back. Ohio State also replaced outgoing athletic director Gene Smith with former Texas A&M and Ole Miss athletic director Ross Bjork to lavishly spend someone else's money.

All the while, Ohio State has taken complete advantage of Alabama's once-in-a-lifetime player exodus in the transfer portal. The Buckeyes landed defensive back Caleb Downs and five-star freshman quarterback Julian Sayin in the portal days apart from each other. Simply put, there are no excuses left for Day to make. He needs to beat Michigan and likely defeat Georgia or Texas for a national title.

Because if Day is to come up short, Ohio State will just hire one of their own instead to fix this.

Ryan Day needs to win big at Ohio State in 2024 or he will surely be fired

Great expectations come with insurmountable pressure. That is what comes with the territory of having arguably the best job in the country. Ohio State is on the same upper echelon of college football with the likes of Alabama, Georgia, Texas and arguably Florida State when it comes to winning tradition, expectations and resources. These are jobs that every coach of note would want to have.

Can Day lose a game next year and that will be okay? Sure, as winning upwards of 15 games in a season with a bunch of 18 to 23-year-olds is easier said than done. However, Ohio State is simply too good to go a very James Franklin 10-2 in 2024. Losing to Michigan for the fourth year in a row will likely result in Day having to legally change his name at the county courthouse to John Cooper Jr.

Admittedly, it is hard to say what are realistic expectations for the Buckeyes this season. Making the expanded College Football Playoff is an obvious one. So would be going 11-1, probably with one of those wins coming over arch-rival Michigan. As far as what could happen in the playoff, I would say Ohio State would have to be at least a national semifinalist with this roster and coaching staff as well.

This is Ohio State's best chance at winning a national title since probably the 2014 or 2015 season.