Joel Klatt was in the same position as a number of college football fans late Saturday night, watching Ryan Day unload on Lou Holtz for his comments on Ohio State’s toughness directly after a thrilling victory.

On his Monday morning episode of “The Joel Klatt Show,” he addressed that rant and admitted his first reaction was a feeling of awkwardness to the situation:

“Let’s get to Ryan Day now. Immediately in the postgame unleashes this rant on the narrative and specifically on Lou Holtz. I was like ‘Wow… Is he going? Oh, yep, he absolutely is.’ It was awkward, I was like I don’t know if this is the right way to go,” said Klatt. “And then I immediately think to myself you know what this is? This is exactly what he wants for the people that want to receive it.”

Klatt went on to explain Day’s rant was likely an intentional ploy directed at his own fanbase and program. Sure, some will not like what Day had to say, but the message was not intended for those people.

“Is this gonna hit for everybody? No. If you’re a Michigan fan, he looks thin-skinned. If you’re a crusty old pundit and you cover college football and want to be angry at everything, he’s being silly and he’s being frivolous and thin-skinned and whiny,” Klatt admitted.

“And if you’re not, you’re probably an Ohio State fan. Or you’re probably an Ohio State player or a staff member and guess what? He was speaking to them. At that moment, he’s speaking to them and for them… It’s like a rally for a (political) candidate at that point. He’s speaking to his base… And every Buckeye fan and every Buckeye player is immediately thinking ‘Yes! That’s my coach.’ Was there anger? Yes. Did it feel spiteful? Yeah, it did, and I get it. If you want to take it that other direction, be my guest, but I’m just telling you: it wasn’t for you.”