Maybe Ohio State fans will finally embrace coach Ryan Day.
Fifty-one days after suffering the worst loss of his career, Day led the No. 8-seeded Buckeyes to their first national championship in a decade with a 34-23 win over seventh-seeded Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff National Championship game Monday night.
“The story gets to be told now,” Day said. “It’s a great story about a bunch of guys who have overcome some really tough situations. There was a point where a lot of people counted us out, and we just kept swinging and fighting.
“It’s the reason you get into coaching, to see guys overcome things, learn life lessons and then reach their dreams. That’s what happened tonight.”
The Buckeyes led 31-7 midway through the third quarter, but Notre Dame mounted a late rally. Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard connected with Jaden Greathouse for a 34-yard touchdown and a 2-point conversion to cut the lead to 31-15 late in the third. Leonard found Greathouse again for a 30-yard touchdown, and Beaux Collins converted another 2-point play to make it 31-23 with 4:15 remaining.
Ohio State sealed the win when quarterback Will Howard hit freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith for a 56-yard completion to Notre Dame’s 10-yard line. Jayden Fielding’s 33-yard field goal with 26 seconds left put the game out of reach.
The victory was redemption for Day, whose team lost to Michigan, the “School Up North,” for the fourth straight time in a stunning 13-10 home defeat on Nov. 30. That loss, where Ohio State was a 21-point favorite, kept the Buckeyes out of the Big Ten Championship.
Day and his players were booed off the field that day.
“There’s a lot of things that certainly have an effect on you and your family,” Day said. “But when you sign up for this job, you sign up for that. You’ve got to be strong enough to withstand those storms to come out the back end, and now it’s an even better story.”
Ohio State’s loss to Michigan didn’t eliminate it from the first 12-team CFP. The Buckeyes beat No. 9-seeded Tennessee, top-seeded Oregon, and fifth-seeded Texas before defeating Notre Dame in their 16th game of the season.
“This program will never be defined by one other program — never,” Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork said. “That doesn’t mean de-emphasizing [the Michigan rivalry]. We will never be defined by somebody else; we take the lead.”
The players credited Day for accepting blame after the Michigan loss and refocusing the team.
“We had to address all the issues we had,” said defensive tackle Tyleik Williams. “Everybody spoke up and fixed the problems. The leadership on this team is like I’ve never seen.”
Day now has a 70-10 record, the second-best winning percentage (87.5%) among coaches with at least 80 FBS games. Only Walter Camp (90.7%) has a better percentage.
“Look, I don’t pay attention to [criticism],” offensive coordinator Chip Kelly said. “I don’t know what else you can do besides winning a national championship.”
Monday’s game also served as redemption for Howard, a Kansas State transfer who struggled in his first start against Michigan. Against Notre Dame, he completed 17 of 21 passes for 231 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 57 yards.
Running back Quinshon Judkins, an Ole Miss transfer, added 100 rushing yards and three total touchdowns. Smith caught five passes for 88 yards and a score.
Leonard led Notre Dame with 255 passing yards and two touchdowns. Greathouse had six catches for 128 yards and two scores.
Notre Dame, which last won a national title in 1988, saw its 13-game winning streak snapped. It was Ohio State’s seventh consecutive win against the Irish.
“We didn’t get it done, and it hurts,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said. “But I told these guys they’ve left this program better. The outlook of Notre Dame football is extremely high.”
Ohio State looks loaded for another run under Day. For now, he has Buckeyes fans behind him — at least until the next Michigan game in 313 days.