Now Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes have enjoyed the limelight all through the season. However, it turned out that Day’s squad was fueled with overhype. If you don’t want to believe the fans, that’s okay. Here are some stats for you! As per the AP Top 25 College Football Poll after Week 9, Ohio State was one of the three overrated teams this season. But is their HC Day willing to believe it? Definitely not! The man tries his best to safeguard the program, giving another story to challenge the wild narrative. But no matter how much Day tries to portray ‘All’s well’ in Columbus, Josh Heupel’s Tennesse Volunteers are already blessed with more than one advantage. 

Yes, the Buckeyes can be strong. However, Day and Co. are yet to beat anyone ranked higher than No.25. That makes Ohio State the only undefeated team with name recognition and recent success. But looks like Day is far from coming to terms with this fact. So on the WBNS 10TV interview with Dom Tiberi, the Buckeyes HC tried to portray everything as sweet and sound. “We’ve learned, and then also, like, we’re not the same team as we were in September, October, and November for different reasons,” Day said, trying to break their ‘overrated’ tag. 

It’s not that they did not know the reasons why the Buckeyes lost the fans’ faith. As the HC pointed out, injuries have gifted Ohio State with some recent struggles. And that’s when he raised a warning for Heupel’s squad: “Making sure that we identify what those things are, but our players are resilient. Our players are great.” So what’s their motto for the Tennesse test? “I almost wish Buckeye Nation could hear what they had to say because they love this university, they love this team. They love this program and, you know, they want to win this whole thing in the worst way,” Day stated. But all these bombastic words seem to be hollow from within. 

That’s mainly because they struggled against teams that were also having a tough time. For instance, the Buckeyes got lucky to grab a last-minute win against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. However, that should not have been the case since Matt Rhule’s army got badly blown out by Indiana 56-7 a week earlier. Similarly, Ohio State even lost to Sherrone Moore’s Michigan, which has been a struggling program all throughout the season. So even if we believe that Day’s narrative is going to be successful, it’s Heupel’s Vols, folks! It won’t be that easy for sure.   

Ryan Day and Ohio State are prone to slipping grip   

Already things look to be slipping out of Day’s hands. Thanks to Heupel and Co., who have stepped into the field with some heavy prep. Here’s when analyst Adam Breneman shifted focus to something interesting that might come off as a warning for the Buckeyes. The Vols are now flying high with confidence as they have a powerful weapon in their hood. That’s none other than Dylan Sampson. 

The analyst confirmed, “Sampson’s ability to move the chains and control the tempo against Ohio State’s defense is gonna be the absolute key in this game for Tennessee.” After all, the young chap wears the best defenses in the country. He is a pro at running the pigskin, no doubt about that. But it has got more to it. Turns out Heupel’s RB is a complete package, as the analyst highlighted, “In games like these, it’s the small things that matter. Controlling the clock, winning the trenches—that’s what decides who moves on.” Forget players; it looks like the climate will be Ohio State’s biggest villain. 

Well, more than Ryan Day’s program, Josh Heupel’s team is more used to the chilly weather. That’s why the Vols HC sounded all confident: “We played in 30-degree weather a week ago. That’s weather, it’s outside distractions… It’s us getting ready to go be our best 11 on 11 between the white lines.” Now let’s see whether the temperature taking a dip makes Ryan Day’s HC seat hotter.