"By the old standard, he would've fallen flat on his face": Josh Pate argues for and against Ryan Day's national championship

Ohio State won the national championship last season after a decade under coach Ryan Day, but the road wasn’t without its hitches. While Day has done nearly everything well during his term, his biggest hurdle has been Michigan.

Since taking on the reins in December 2018, Day has accumulated a 70-10 record with the Buckeyes. However, after a 13-10 loss to Michigan last year, his record against the Wolverines dropped to 1-4, with four straight losses.

On Wednesday's "Josh Pate's College Football Show," insider Josh Pate acknowledged Day’s successful run last campaign but pointed out the Buckeyes' two regular season defeats, including the Michigan loss.

He imagined a debate where one side praised Day for winning the national championship, while the other argued that the losses still mattered even with the championship.

“If we were presenting Ryan Day as the debate topic in class, it’d be so fun,” Pate said (Timestamp: 1:02). “It’s so easy, here’s how it would sound. Someone would say, ‘Ryan Day’s proven himself now. He’s won the national championship. He’s erased all doubt.’

“I could say, ‘Well, yeah but by the old standard, he would've fallen flat on his face again last year.' They lost two games in the regular season. The only thing that saved him was that he got back in because of a new playoff format and then went on a hot streak that they should have looked like all year."

Regarding the new 12-team playoff format, Pate said that everyone played by the same rules, but it still feels a “little hollow” since Day hasn’t beaten Michigan in years.

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Ryan Day focusing on defensive growth

Ohio State won’t face Michigan until later in the season. To beat the team, the Buckeyes will need firepower, some of which they’ve lost with players leaving for the NFL.

Talking about the new young defensive roster, Ryan Day said at Monday's press conference:

“In order for us to play defense like we did last year, we're gonna need those guys to step up more than they have," Day said. "I think, again, there's ability there, but consistently playing at a certain level is something that's a challenge that I know Coach (Larry) Johnson is gonna be pushing these guys for over and over again.

“We need these guys to step up in a big way. I think guys have gotten better, for sure. You're seeing it. But in order to be where we need to be next year, there needs to be more and more growth as we move forward.”

Ohio State's defense, which finished with a nation-leading stop rate of 78.5%, allowed only 241.7 yards per game last season.