What’s to be done about Ryan Day? On one hand, most fans around the nation would kill for Ohio State’s double-digit win stability throughout his six-year career running the show in Columbus. On the other, Ohio State fans have every right to be upset with the results thus far.
Day seems allergic to winning games that actually matter. Following Saturday’s 32-31 loss to Oregon, the Buckeyes are now 2-6 against top five teams in the AP Poll under Day. They’ve lost four straight games against such opponents.
For at least three years, Michigan has been a constant thorn in Ohio State’s side. Now it’s a conference newcomer that had never won against a top-3 team; the Ducks were 0-19 all-time before their triumph against the Buckeyes.
Ryan Day’s last five games vs. top-5 teams
| Year |
Opponent |
Result |
| 2022 |
No. 5 Notre Dame |
W 21-10 |
| 2022 |
No. 3 Michigan |
L 45-23 |
| 2022 |
No. 1 Georgia |
L 42-41 |
| 2023 |
No. 3 Michigan |
L 30-24 |
| 2024 |
No. 3 Oregon |
L 32-31 |
While it’s not fair to call Day’s seat hot — Ohio State can still make the Big Ten Championship Game, and it’s hard to envision a 12-team College Football Playoff without the Buckeyes — he is college football’s biggest underachiever. Day and Ohio State went all-in with an impressive transfer haul, supplementing a roster that saw a majority of its biggest stars return for one more Dream Team-esque run. They lured sitting UCLA head coach Chip Kelly to become their offensive coordinator.
And they wilted in their first real test of the 2024 season; no Wolverines required. That national championship mystique that permeated the Columbus air in the offseason has completely evaporated, replaced by a dark cloud of questions surrounding Day’s place as a high-level coach.
Here are four other overreactions as we put a bow on Week 7.
It’s Texas and then everyone else in the SEC
Here’s Texas.
Here’s the rest of the SEC.
The Longhorns are creating more and more distance in the conference race with each passing week, both with their play on the field and given other results happening around the SEC’s now vast southern footprint. On the same day that Texas demolished No. 18 Oklahoma 34-3, avenging last season’s loss, No. 7 Alabama struggled at home against unranked South Carolina, No. 8 Tennessee needed overtime to beat one of the worst Florida teams in quite some time and even No. 5 Georgia looked uninspired in a 41-31 win against hapless Mississippi State.
All those aforementioned teams already have at least one loss, too. Alabama and Tennessee both fell against unranked teams that they were favored by double digits against. Georgia lost to Alabama. At the time, that seemed like a powerhouse clash between two national title contenders. But the result becomes more dubious with each passing week.
For those still doubting their résumé, the Longhorns are currently 6-0 and are winning by an average of just under 37 points per game against a strength of record that currently ranks eighth in the nation, per ESPN’s FPI metric. They’ll have a chance to permanently silence any remaining detractors against Georgia next week.
For now, Texas looks head and shoulders above every other team in the SEC, and certainly most teams around the nation.
It might be time for UCF to retire the Gus Bus
It’s starting to putter out. Gus Malzahn’s UCF tenure may have hit a new low Saturday afternoon in a 19-13 home loss against Cincinnati. The same Cinciannti team that went 3-9 last year and won just one game in Big 12 play.
The Golden Knights even benched starting quarterback KJ Jefferson, a former Arkansas transfer, before the game kicked off to try and spark a stagnant offense. It didn’t work. His replacement, 17-year-old true freshman EJ Colson, was benched after four pass attempts. Jacurri Brown, who entered the game for Colson, did post an impressive 207 yards and one touchdown, but it obviously wasn’t enough in the end.
This was UCF’s third loss in a row as outright favorites. Malzahn’s squad hasn’t scored more than 21 points since a Sept. 14 win against TCU, and it’s combined to put 26 on the board in each of its last two losses.
Remember, prior to breaking into the collegiate head coaching ranks, Malzahn made his name as an offensive coordinator and, particularly, a quarterback guru. UCF currently ranks 12th in the Big 12 with 206.8 yards passing per game.
Malzahn is now 9-10 since UCF’s move to the Big 12, with a 4-8 showing against conference foes. The Golden Knights weren’t expected to compete immediately, but it isn’t promising that they’re showing signs of regression under a 58-year old head coach.
UCF should be set up well in the Big 12. Its unique position as the conference’s only representative in Florida gives it an inherent advantage in talent acquisition. Saturday’s result — and the last month, really — raise serious doubts about Malzahn’s ability to fully capitalize on that.
Kenny Dillingham is coach of the year
What Kenny Dillingham is doing in Tempe should not be ignored. The 34-year old inherited an absolute mess from the Herm Edwards era. Edwards was fired three games into the 2022 season after a 30-21 loss to Eastern Michigan.
This decision came amid an NCAA investigation into recruiting violations committed by Edwards and his staff during the COVID-19 dead period. The Sun Devils had a mass transfer portal exodus following the 2021 season — not long after reports of the violations surfaced — that saw them lose the likes of quarterback Jayden Daniels (an eventual Heisman Trophy winner at LSU) and wide receiver Johnny Wilson (who developed into an NFL Draft pick at Florida State).
So Dillingham inherited a gutted roster and a program facing an uncertain future with punitive measures on the horizon when he took the job ahead of the 2023 season. Arizona State certainly took its lumps in his first year. The Sun devils only won three games. They weren’t expected to acclimate well to a move to the Big 12 in 2024. July’s media poll tabbed them to finish dead last in the now 16-team conference.
Fast-forward a couple months, and Arizona State is 5-1, with a 2-1 record in Big 12 play. Its latest win came against No. 16 Utah, the preseason Big 12 favorites. That was ASU’s first win against a ranked team under Dillingham, and it put the Sun Devils in position to at least flirt with the AP Top 25 Poll themselves.
Arizona State is just one win away from making a bowl game, at the very least. With how chaotic the Big 12 has been, it would be hard to completely discount the Sun Devils’ path to the Big 12 Championship Game — especially if they can beat teams of Utah’s ilk. It’s been nothing short of a miraculous turnaround under Dillingham, one that’s more than worthy of awards consideration.
Cade Klubnik engineering college football’s best individual turnaround
Clemson has eviscerated every opponent it’s stepped on the field against since its season-opening loss to Georgia, and the play of quarterback Cade Klubnik has been a big reason why. He is quietly engineering one of college football’s biggest individual turnarounds, after a rough first year as the Tigers’ starter, and he deserves more recognition when it comes to the discussion around postseason honors.
He threw for 309 yards and three touchdowns in Saturday’s win against Wake Forest, completing 75.6% of his passes in the process. That was Klubnik’s fourth game with at least three touchdowns passing and third game with at least 250 yards through the air. His 17 touchdowns passing currently rank third among ACC quarterbacks, and he’s tied for the conference lead at his position with four touchdowns rushing.
Most importantly, Klubnik has only thrown two interceptions through six games. Turnovers were a huge issue for him in 2023 — nine of his passes were snagged by the defense — but he has taken great strides in the decision-making department. Clemson hasn’t played a difficult schedule over the past month or so, but the Tigers’ offense looks worlds better than it did a year ago with Klubnik running the show, even when adjusting for competition.
That could be just what the Tigers need to climb back to the ACC’s mountaintop.
