Legendary ex-Notre Dame head coach Lou Holtz hasn't let his hatred for Ohio State die, at least not yet.
Holtz, 88, watched in disappointment as the Buckeyes beat Notre Dame in January's national title game, which appeared to mark the end of the rivalry between the two sides.
In a recent interview with OutKick's Dan Dakich, however, it couldn't be further from the truth. Despite the Buckeyes leapfrogging the Texas Longhorns in Tuesday's AP Poll, it wasn't enough to win over the former national championship-winning coach.
"I know the schedule is very, very good, but when you’re at home and you’re outgained by well over 100 yards, you just can’t look at it and say, ‘Okay, we’re great. We won the game.’ They are 1-0 and that’s the objective they had going in that game, but they’re not a great football team," Holtz said.
According to Holtz, he and Ryan Day have yet to make amends despite Holtz's best efforts, he said.
"Ryan Day (can do) whatever he wants," Holtz said. "I did write him a congratulatory letter, but I never heard back from him. I’m not sure he could write but in any event … And he’s obviously a good coach, he’s a good recruiter, he’s a good coach … You look at his win-loss record, it’s really tremendous."
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Holtz, at least for now, is downplaying the current state of the Big Ten. He says "doesn't have that many great football teams" this fall, so, in his view, it's too early to overreact to the Texas game.
Despite Holtz's being complimentary of the Buckeyes' schedule, he says the measuring stick game will be Thanksgiving weekend when Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood welcomes the Buckeyes to Ann Arbor in a potential win-and-in scenario for both teams' College Football Playoff and Big Ten title hopes.
For now, though, it remains to be seen whether Holtz is right by season's end. If he is, Day might have some explaining to do.