One thing can prevent Ohio State football from winning a national championship, and it isn’t Texas.
Dallas — For the second week in a row, Ohio State’s head coach Ryan Day has to stand at a podium while another head coach celebrates his squad and warns the world of what’s to come.
Last week, Oregon’s Dan Lanning lavished Day’s program with so many compliments that, in the aftermath of a 41-21 bloodbath, his words seemed less complimentary and more like a flag. It now appears that he was trying to tell us how good the Buckeyes were, and despite a 32-31 victory on Oct. 12, he was bracing himself for a very different outcome in the Rose Bowl.
Day may have laughed it off the day before the game, but by the end of New Year’s Day, he was plainly intent on turning Lanning into a prophet.
Now it’s Steve Sarkisian’s time, as he guides Texas back to a stage they lost 12 months ago, seeking to return the Longhorns to a place they haven’t been since Mac Brown won with Colt McCoy in 2009 and Vince Young in 2005.
Sarkisian made it a point earlier in the week to accept that his team is the underdog in this game when on a Zoom call. He utilized a joint press conference 24 hours before kickoff to double down on it, with Day sitting less than five feet from him.
Sarkisian remarked, “In this format, it’s not always about who was the best team for 12 games.” “This time of year, it’s about who’s playing the best football. We can all probably agree that Coach Day, his squad, and their performance both before and after the Michigan game have been outstanding. They have also been able to accomplish this since the playoffs began. Coach Day and his team deserve praise for reviving that roster and getting them moving.
Expectations have surrounded Day’s head coaching career.
He was supposed to follow a guy who led Ohio State to seven consecutive victories, not only by pushing the school to new heights but also by physically defeating its adversary.
Every six months, he must continually adjust to a sport that is undergoing a significant transformation, even when the finish line doesn’t even appear to be in sight.
While other teams try to concurrently steal his players and recruits, he is expected to battle for conference and national crowns, organize top-tier recruiting workshops, and comb through the transfer portal.
Even though winning a game is frequently insufficient to satisfy everyone, he is expected to come up with winning game ideas every Saturday.
Yes, and it is anticipated that he will defeat Michigan.
Six years into his position, he is excelling in some of those areas while utterly failing at others, and his most recent opponent has managed to add yet another item to an already lengthy list of demands. A day before press conferences that are essentially a made-for-TV show, Day is 60 minutes away from his second National Championship Game and is being reminded of his current situation.
The purpose of these events is for coaches to spend forty-five minutes praising one another, dismissing any inquiries about larger issues because “at the moment, all they’re focused on is defeating (insert team)” and a brief photo opportunity with a trophy while wearing a fancy suit before returning to their jobs.
Sarkisian, however, is here to ensure that everyone is aware of which side of the fence to blame for their Friday night loss.
