The Ohio State Buckeyes, sitting at 10-2 and rocking the No. 1 offense and defense in the nation, should’ve been gearing up for playoff domination, right? Wrong. Instead, Buckeye fans are in full meltdown mode. Why? One name: Ryan Day. Sure, look, the team is a statistical juggernaut, and they’ve run through most of their schedule, but none of that matters when you trip over the one game that actually counts. Losing to Michigan—again—has folks ready to pack Ryan Day’s bags and book him a one-way ticket back to New Hampshire.

Let’s set the scene. Week 14, at home, 21-point favorites. Ohio State was supposed to slap the heck out of Michigan’s 7-5 squad, led by Sherrone Moore, all over the Horseshoe. But what did they do? They folded like a cheap lawn chair. Final score: 13-10. Buckeye fans were sick. This wasn’t just a loss; it was an emotional gut punch, a choke job of epic proportions. Ryan Day knows it too. “Our number one goal every year is to win the rivalry game, and that didn’t happen,” he said, sounding more defeated than the team. “So you feel like the season’s a failure.”

And don’t think it’s just the fans piling on. ESPN analyst Booger McFarland kept it real: “If you’re Ryan Day, regardless of your record against Michigan, if you win a championship, that gives you two solid feet to stand on.” Translation: winning cures everything, but if Ryan Day falls short, he might not even have a leg to stand on, let alone two. And then there’s grumpy Paul Finebaum, never one to sugarcoat. “First-round knockout? I’d fire him on the field before he gets to midfield!” That’s not criticism—that’s a verbal body bag. Can’t even argue against it, though.

But here’s the kicker: Ryan Day’s record is absurd when Michigan isn’t involved. The man is 47-1 against the rest of the Big Ten, an undeniable monster in conference play. Yet, against the Wolverines, he’s 1-4. It’s giving major John Cooper vibes—the former OSU coach who racked up wins but famously couldn’t get it done against Michigan (2-10-1, if you need receipts). For Ohio State fans, losing to Michigan is like breaking grandma’s antique vase—it’s unforgivable.

Now Day has one shot at redemption: the playoffs. Beat Tennessee, survive the gauntlet, and maybe—just maybe—the Buckeye faithful will ease up. But another letdown? Oh, it’s curtains. The fans will be ready to escort him out of Columbus themselves. It’s not just “now or never”; it’s now, or we’re calling U-Haul.

The Ohio State fans nuke Ryan Day on the internet

Ryan Day might want to stay away from social media because Buckeye fans are absolutely torching him. A hype video titled “It’s Now or Never for Ryan Day at Ohio State” dropped on YouTube, presumably to rally the fanbase, but it did the opposite. Safe to say, the Buckeye fans weren’t low-key hyped—they were fuming, big time. It wasn’t just them either; the whole CFB world was roasting Day and his team.

One fan went straight for the throat: “He will never beat *ichigan. Day is NOT from Ohio. Neither was John Cooper.” The insinuation? If you’re not from a tough, football-crazed state like Ohio, you don’t have the grit to beat Michigan. Ryan Day, from New Hampshire, doesn’t have that Mid-west toughness, just like John Cooper. The man went 2-10-1 against the Wolverines.

Another fan turned the video’s title into a roast: “Been ‘now or never’ for Day the past five years. I am convinced Ohio State fans like losing.” Ouch. They’re clearly fed up with the endless “this is our year” rhetoric that’s been falling flat under Ryan Day’s leadership.

The SEC matchup against Tennessee isn’t helping matters. One comment captured the fans’ dread: “Ohio State has no idea what SEC football is like.” It’s been somewhat 10 years since Ohio State beat the SEC big boys. Not gonna lie, that’s a low-key crazy stat. Another fan, already waving the white flag, joked, “The Tennessee flag will look great on the OSU logo up in Neyland North!” The tradition of planting flags after a victory has Buckeyes fans resigned to watching Tennessee claim their turf in Columbus.

Obviously, the most cutting comment came from a Michigan fan: “OSU and their fanbase never want to win the national championship. All they want is to beat Michigan on a good day!” It’s like a brutal critique of Ohio State’s fixation on this whole rivalry. Their obsession with Michigan is their downfall.

As the playoffs creep up, Ryan Day’s entire legacy is hanging by a thread. Pulling out a win against Tennessee might give him a little breathing room, but let’s be real—anything less than hoisting that championship trophy is gonna have the fans sharpening their pitchforks again. Buckeye Nation is fed up with the “so close” storylines. If Ryan Day wants to keep his job—and his pride—he’s gotta show up and deliver when the lights are brightest. No excuses. If he fumbles this, though? Boy, never mind.