What did Lou Holtz say about Ryan Day ahead of the national championship? Legendary coach goes off on X

By now it’s clear Ryan Day and Lou Holtz aren’t getting together for dinner any time soon. Ahead of the CFP National Championship Game between Notre Dame and Ohio State, the former Fighting Irish head coach stirred up the pot again on Wednesday.

With Holtz’s former team coming in as an underdog, the former South Carolina and NC State head coach mixed it up again responding to an X post from Pat McAfee.

“If Notre Dame doesn’t win, it’s because we want to preserve Ryan Day’s job.", Lou Holtz said. "I was originally going to be at the game in spirit, but now I’ll be dragging my body along as well.”, Holtz added.

The original tweet by McAfee questioned if the former coach would make the trip to Atlanta to watch the game.

Holtz, of course, was the Notre Dame head coach when they last won a national title, back in 1988. After that, the Fighting Irish came close a couple more times under Holtz, finishing second in the nation in 1989 and 1992 after losing one game in each season.

Holtz later posted his prediction for the game on his X account, once again picking the Fighting Irish to win a close game while pointing to the team’s culture as a difference-maker.

“Ohio State has the talent, but Notre Dame has the heart, the culture, and the defense to win this game.", Holtz said. "Stay patient, run the football, and trust the process. Notre Dame wins a close one—by 3. Remember, we’re Notre Dame and they ain’t!”

How did the feud between Lou Holtz and Ryan Day begin?

While it has ratcheted up lately, the beef between Holtz and Day started in last season’s game between the Buckeyes and the Fighting Irish, held at Notre Dame Stadium. Before that meeting, the retired head coach picked his team to win, but it was his choice of words that didn’t sit well with Ryan Day.

"He has lost to Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, Michigan twice, and everybody that beats him does so because they're more physical than Ohio State. I think Notre Dame will take that same approach," Holtz said.

After the Buckeyes won a close 17-14 game, scoring the winning touchdown with one second left on the clock, Ryan Day went after the former Irish head coach on his postgame comments.

“I’d like to know where Lou Holtz is right now," Day said. "What he said about our team, what he said about our team, I cannot believe. This is a tough team right here. We’re proud to be from Ohio. It’s always been Ohio against the world.”

No matter what happens in the championship game, more shots could be fired by Monday night.