At Ohio State, one national championship can make you a legend. Two can make you immortal. Ryan Day knows this better than anyone, because, even with one championship to his name, he is living in the shadow of coaching greats.
Woody Hayes built the foundation, winning five national titles and shaping the Buckeye identity with grit and power. Jim Tressel, in his trademark sweater vest, brought calm discipline and a 2002 crown that ended a three-decade drought. Urban Meyer, fiery and relentless, restored Ohio State’s swagger with the 2014 national championship in the first College Football Playoff.
Day, who lifted the 2024 trophy in Houston, stands at the crossroads of history. One championship has silenced critics who questioned whether he could win the “big one.” But in Columbus, greatness is not measured by silence—it is measured by streaks, by banners, by building dynasties.
The benefits of back-to-back
If Day can repeat in 2025, the narrative shifts dramatically. He would become more than Urban’s successor—he would stand alongside him, perhaps even above him, as the steward of a new golden era. Back-to-back titles are rare in college football. Only Nick Saban and a select handful of others have managed it in the modern game. Doing so would confirm that Day’s Buckeyes are not just champions, but the new measuring stick for the sport.
Recruiting, too, would surge to another level. Ohio State already secures elite talent, but a second straight championship could tip the scales against SEC and Big Ten rivals in the ongoing arms race. A dynasty attracts not just athletes, but belief. And belief is currency in college football.
The downside of falling short
But failure carries weight in Columbus. This is the paradox of Ohio State’s program: excellence is expected, but dominance is demanded. One title is celebrated, but the absence of another quickly revives whispers of doubt.
If Day’s Buckeyes stumble, he risks falling into the “what if” category that defined coaches like John Cooper—respected, successful, but not immortal. The bar in Columbus is not conference championships or playoff appearances. The bar is national championships, plural.
Writing his own chapter
What separates Day from Hayes, Tressel, and Meyer is not just time—it is context. He leads in the era of the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff, an era where dynasties are harder to sustain because the path is longer and the obstacles more numerous. To win once was impressive. To win again would be a statement that Day is more than just inheriting greatness—he is creating it.
And that is the heart of Day’s quest. To be remembered not just as the man who followed Urban Meyer, but as the man who built something enduring, something that stands with Hayes’ toughness, Tressel’s steadiness, and Meyer’s fire.
This fall, Ryan Day will walk the sideline with history at his back and opportunity at his feet. The question isn’t whether he can win again. The question is whether he can seize this moment to turn greatness into legacy.
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