Ryan Day Brings His Best When It Is Required, Will It Be Enough in 2026?

When the best is required, Ryan Day shows up ready to fight.

The Buckeyes head coach is as good as it gets in nearly every measurable category. He has the best win percentage of any coach ever in the history of college football; he is about to be the quickest to 100 wins in his career; he has countless NFL players; he has one National Championship to his name, and the list can go on and on.

A lot of times in college football, there are a bunch of wins where the game is over before it even gets started. There are lopsided victories every year, but the mark of a true coach is what happens when the best is required.

As no surprise, Day brings his best nearly every single time. 

Day's record against the best coaches in America is so good. 

When he went against James Franklin's Penn State Nittany Lions, he was a perfect 6-0; he is 3-0 against Marcus Freeman's Notre Dame Fighting Irish, he is 2-0 against Steve Sarkisian, 1-1 against Dabo Sweeney, 1-1 against Curt Cignetti, and 1-1 against Dan Lanning.

Obviously, some teams and coaches are missing, like Kirby Smart, Jim Harbaugh, and Nick Saban, but the point remains: when Day needs his fastball, he brings it.

That is important every year, but none more than this upcoming campaign. Currently on the Buckeyes' schedule are Sarkisian in week two, Brett Bielema, Kurt Ferenz, Lannning, Cignetti, Lincoln Riley, and then Kyle Whittingham to end the year.

It is an insane roster of coaches that Day is going to have to take on next year, but if history tells us anything, Ohio State is going to be ready for it. 

However, the only question that remains is how much the players are going to be able to take. In a vacuum, the Buckeyes should be favored in almost all of those games. However, it is going to be really hard for this team to answer the bell week after week after week.

Not to mention, all of those games come before a College Football Playoff in which they will have to play four more of the top 15 teams in the country.

Next year might just be too much of a tough schedule for the Buckeyes to overcome. That's not to say the expectation is lower because of the hard schedule. That's the blessing and curse of the Ohio State program. 

If anyone can get the job done, it is absolutely Ryan Day.