Ryan Day has driven Ohio State's best future asset to the brink with loss to Michigan

A fourth straight loss to Michigan would seem to have been the final nail in Ryan Day's coffin at Ohio State. The Wolverines lost almost everything from last year's national title team, and limped into the Horseshoe at 6-5 with arguably the worst passing offense in the Power 4. And yet, despite all of that — and despite dropping tens of millions to assemble arguably his most talented roster over six seasons in Columbus — Day still fell flat, producing a truly baffling gameplan that played right into Michigan's hands. If he still can't get over the hump, in a season in which everything broke his way, then why should the school think that he ever will?

But maybe that's not convincing enough. May you want to point to Day's gaudy overall record, and his three College Football Playoff appearances, and extend him the benefit of the doubt. Unfortunately, the team's best player doesn't seem to agree — and if Ohio State doesn't act soon, he might be headed to the transfer portal at the end of the season.

Jeremiah Smith's Instagram suggests dissatisfaction with Ryan Day

Jeremiah Smith has been a sensation this season, putting up the kinds of numbers (and the kinds of highlights) that you seldom see from upperclassmen, let alone true freshmen. Smith is nearing the 1,000-yard mark on the season, and he was one of Ohio State's few bright spots during the Michigan loss, catching the team's lone touchdown and bringing energy every time he touched the football. He'd likely be a first-round pick in the NFL Draft if he were allowed to declare next spring, but luckily for the Buckeyes, they get him for two more years.

That is, if they don't lose him to the transfer portal first. And that seems very much like a possibility now, as Smith took to Instagram after the Michigan game and liked a post calling Day "inept".

Smith did take to Twitter on Monday evening to try to calm things down, sending a tweet that, while vague, did seem to imply that he remained committed to the Buckeyes.

But that Instagram like felt pretty unambiguous; it's not the sort of thing you do unless something's gone wrong. And it would be hard to blame him if he had soured on Day and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, given their baffling commitment to running the ball into Michigan's elite defensive line rather than spreading the ball out to playmakers like Smith and Emeka Egbuka.

Maybe this was just a heat-of-the-moment reaction, and Smith and Day have already managed to patch things up and move forward. But right now, the star wide receiver seems a lot more valuable to this program than his head coach, and Ohio State should tread very carefully when deciding what to do next.