"They had just copied and pasted that nonsense": CFB insider draws parallels between Ryan Day and Kirby Smart's past

Ohio State has won the national championship, and Ryan Day has silenced his critics. The Buckeyes' coach had long been heavily criticized for not advancing Ohio State to the next level, especially after the team's struggles to defeat Michigan for four consecutive years and the absence of a Big Ten title since the truncated 2020 season.

While critics may continue to voice their opinions, they can no longer argue that Day is incapable of winning national championships. The 34-23 victory over Notre Dame on Monday night put that to rest.

Insider Josh Pate said the criticism of Ryan Day stemmed from the media's tendency to target someone for ridicule, and Day was simply their most recent target. After the Buckeyes' victory on Monday, Pate pointed out the similarities in how Day and Kirby Smart were both treated before securing their first national championship.

"Kirby Smart was that way for a while. Kirby, for a while, even though everyone's whitewashed history and no one remembers this, Kirby for a while was the guy who couldn't get over the hump, couldn't beat Nick Saban, couldn't win the big one."

"And then, he got over the hump, and he beat Saban and won a couple of titles in a row, and one talks like that anymore. They had just copied and pasted all that nonsense and started labeling Ryan Day same way."

Ryan Day on the meaning of the national title victory for Ohio State

Ryan Day knows very well he and his team were the victims of hard criticism following their defeat at the hands of Michigan at the end of the regular season. On Monday night, he reflected on the importance of Ohio State's national championship.

“It’s a great story about a bunch of guys who have just overcome some really tough situations, and at the point where there’s a lot of people that counted us out (they) just kept swinging and kept fighting,” he said.

With the victory, his CFP record becomes 5-3. His trophy cabinet now includes two Big Ten titles and a national championship.