Urban Meyer came to the defense of his former assistant this week.

Following Ohio State’s 17-14 win over Notre Dame this past weekend, Ryan Day tenaciously defended his team from claims by Lou Holtz that the Buckeyes were soft. Of course, Day’s comments made him a target of even more criticism.

On the latest episode of Meyer’s podcast, Urban’s Take with Tim May, Meyer said only idiots are criticizing Day for defending his team.

“If someone criticizes Ryan Day for fighting for his team and fighting for himself, dude, you’re an idiot,” Meyer said. “I hate to be so prompt, but I get so angry sometimes when someone’s going to criticize Ryan Day for saying what’s on his heart, but media or some other buffoon can say (whatever) — I’m not saying coach Holtz is a buffoon, I love coach Holtz — that’s between those two.”

Meyer thinks that fans shouldn’t have been surprised by what Day said. The game was a thriller with Ohio State coming out on top 17-14. Chip Trayanum scored the game-winning touchdown as time expired.

“Let Ryan Day say what he wants to say and move on. If you don’t like it, that’s fine,” Meyer said. “But do you understand Ryan Day, they just won a game that his life would be different if they lost that game. And someone sticks a microphone in his face, probably four minutes after it happened. He is allowed to say what he wants to say. And you respect that, because he did it.”