Ohio State Buckeyes HC Ryan Day’s seat gets hotter every day. However, that should not have been the case. After all, the Buckeyes dominated the Tennessee Volunteers from start to finish on December 21. That’s how they picked up a win in the first round of the College Football Playoff. But how could Ohio State just push their recent losses under the table?

Maybe losing to Michigan Wolverines twice did land Day in deep soup. On top of that came the close defeat to Dan Lanning’s Oregon Ducks. Well, we can get the dilemma that the Buckeyes officials might be in. On one hand, they will have to get rid of Day to turn their luck. On the other hand, they might have to pay a costly price for throwing Day out.

Ohio State at crossroads with Ryan Day

Well, there is no doubt in the fact that Day led his program to the most important win of his career. The fans were all ready with the torch and pitchfork. Thank god they did not repeat the same mistakes that led to the thunder-blunder against Sherrone Moore’s Michigan Wolverines three weeks ago. The Ohio State HC pulled a 180 against Josh Heupel’s Vols. Surprising, isn’t it? After all, that was the opposite of how they closed things down in the 13-10 loss to the Wolverines on Nov. 30. So, now Day’s future in Columbus stands at the crossroads. Even analyst Colin Cowherd is confused about it. On his podcast, The Herd with Colin Cowherd, he stated, “Ryan Day loses to Michigan and Oregon twice…this was impressive but they were at home and Will Howard was perfect. I’m looking at Ohio State and I think did Ryan Day save his job and I think of course and then I think to myself they lost to Oregon.”

That’s when he took the help of the guest of the evening, analyst Albert Breer. To give a better understanding of Day walking on thin ice, he took the example of the former Ohio State HC John Cooper who was fired after serving Ohio State for 13 years. Breer said, “I was there when John Cooper was fired…it was really because they weren’t winning at the same clip that they had been winning at before and there was the Michigan problem.” But again it won’t be easy for Ohio State to let go of Day.

After all, there might be chances for recruits to swap wagons as they did after GOAT Nick Saban left Alabama Crimson Tide. So, as Breer highlighted, “Not just you know how do you look against Oregon. It’s also like if you’re walking from Ryan Day, are you bringing in somebody who can retain all that talent?” Maybe Day will still figure out how to save his job. But two analysts got into a heated argument revolving around the Ohio State HC.  

The Ryan Day debate took an ugly turn

Tension seemed to be brewing for a long time now. Analysts have been divided into two groups. Ray’s fans and Ray’s haters. That’s when things turned bitter between ESPN and First Take contributor Shannon Sharpe. It ended up with Sharpe sending a warning to College GameDay host Kirk Herbstreit. We know how doubts loomed around the Buckeyes HC and his chance to lose his job in case they failed to grab a win against Heupel’s army.

But when Day and Co. could flip the narrative, putting the finishing touches on their dominating win over the Vols, Herbstreit could no longer keep silent. Maybe he was waiting for the opportunity for a perfect clapback. He said on the ESPN broadcast, “‘First Take’ tried to fire him. They thought he was done, so I’ll be excited to see what they talk about on Monday after this performance. They had him out, trying to find replacements. But here he is, he still has his hat on. He’s still coaching.”

First Take’s other host Stephen A. Smith tried to walk away from the controversy claiming that he was misquoted. But Shannon Sharpe didn’t hold back. “If we’re going to be on the same team, if we’re gonna work for the same network, don’t do that. Kirk, Chris Fowler, I promise you, if you ever mention any platform that I’m on again talking about ‘I wonder what they’re going to say as negativity,’ I promise you, ESPN ain’t got enough bosses to keep me off y’all for what I’m going to say. Don’t play with me,” warned Sharpe. That’s how the Ryan Day saga has fans and analysts at odds.