“The story of this team is yet to be told”: Ryan Day reflects on Ohio State’s transformation hinting at Michigan loss

Coach Ryan Day's Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the Texas Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl on Friday night. They won 28-14 after scoring 14 points in the fourth quarter to take control of the contest. The triumph advanced them to the national championship game against Notre Dame.

Entering the College Football Playoff final, most fans and experts expect the Buckeyes to pull off the win. This is largely because of the Buckeyes' stellar performance in the first two rounds of the playoff.

They defeated Tennessee 42-17 in the first round before overcoming top seed Oregon 41-21 in the quarterfinals. Conversely, Texas narrowly escaped the quarterfinals, defeating Arizona State 39-31 in double overtime.

However, at the end of the regular season, not many fans would have picked the Buckeyes to advance to the national championship game. They lost 13-10 to unranked rival Michigan in the regular-season finale, knocking them out of the Big Ten championship game and forcing them to play a first-round matchup in the CFP.

Since then, Ohio State has turned things around massively and is the favorite to defeat the Fighting Irish in the national championship game on Jan. 20. After the victory over Texas, Ryan Day was asked about his team bouncing back from the loss to Michigan.

"The story of this team is yet to be told," Day said. "No great accomplishments are ever achieved without going through adversity. That’s just the truth. And so we’ve gone through our share of adversity. That’s life.

"I told those guys that. We’re not focused on what’s coming down the road, we’re not focused on what’s happened in the past. We’re focused on right now, and being right where we are. And at the end, we want to be able to tell the story of this team."

Ryan Day praises Ohio State for overcoming adversity

Ryan Day was also asked about his OSU squad overcoming adversity after the loss to Michigan. He went on to praise his team for its resilience.

"I think when you look at the guys that we have in our program, you see guys that are tough," Day said. "You see guys that are resilient. You see guys who care about each other. You see guys that love being Buckeyes. You’re seeing two of them right here."

The two players Ryan Day is referring to were quarterback Will Howard and linebacker Jack Sawyer, both of whom were at the press conference with Day.

The national title game will be held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The showdown is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. ET and will air on ESPN.