Ryan Day urging Ohio State to ‘finish the mission’ in national title game
Ryan Day and his team have come too far just to fall short.
That was one of the messages that the Ohio State head coach sent on Saturday during Media Day in Atlanta, where in 2 days his Buckeyes will face Notre Dame in the national title game.
Ohio State was left for dead by many after a lifeless home loss to rival Michigan to close the regular season. But the Buckeyes got a break because the College Football Playoff has 12 teams now instead of 4, so Day and Ohio State got a second chance. So far, the Buckeyes have run with it, literally, and now they sit on the precipice of their first national title in 10 years and their third this century.
“It’s an opportunity for our team to finish the job that we started,” said Day. “The only way this team gets to tell their story is if we win the game. We have to finish the mission. It’s an opportunity for us to cement ourselves in Ohio State history.”
"We got to finish the mission."
Ryan Day knows the job’s not done—60 minutes stand between @OhioStateFB and the #CFBPlayoff National Championship 👇#B1GFootball pic.twitter.com/qU18uZcTFi
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) January 18, 2025
Day added that there have been a lot of great teams at Ohio State, and now he wants this 2024 version to join those other ones in Buckeye lore. Less than 2 months ago, some in Columbus were calling for Day’s job, and on Monday night he and his team will look to quiet the critics once and for all.
Ohio State and Notre Dame will kick things off shortly after 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN, as the first champion from the 12-team Playoff format will be crowned. The Buckeyes are an 8.5-point favorite in the game, via DraftKings.