Paul Finebaum addresses how Ryan Day has answered the critics on Ohio State's run

Paul Finebaum was frankly impressed that Ryan Day answered Ohio State critics so far through the College Football Playoff.

Of course, the fourth straight Michigan loss still hangs over Day’s head, as well as lack of a national championship. But the Buckeyes have been a buzzsaw in the last two games.

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Finebaum wanted to reflect on how Ohio State got to this point after it looked like the season was going to end disastrously.

“Everyone wants to point at Stephen A. Smith or Greg McElroy or me or somebody else, but it was their fan base,” Finebaum said of the Ohio State critics on McElroy and Cubelic. “His fan base turned on him. And don’t forget the noted Poet Laureate of college football, Kirk Herbstreit. He’s the one that really started it all on Selection Sunday by saying it could be a bad thing for Ohio State to play at home, because it could turn toxic. That’s when the narrative began about Ohio State in the playoffs. 

“Certainly, we already knew it from the Michigan game on. As far as how Ryan Day has handled things, it has been exemplary for somebody that has been as disliked by his own fan base as he has. He has just turned the other cheek. He’s ignored it. He’s adjusted, and he’s coaching at the highest possible level right now.”

The narrative certainly has changed, but Day is keeping it all business and looking forward.

According to Day, Ohio State is preparing the same way it has over the past couple of months, as they try to achieve the ultimate goal of winning the national title this season. There’s been some bumps in the road, and Day realizes that, but his team’s standing as one of the final four remaining solidifies his confidence in what he’s built.

“I think we’ve learned a lot about our team,” Day said in part. “I think we’ve grown a lot as a team, and, you know, we’re banking on this to be our best football of the season. These guys, you know, they care a lot about each other, and we’re just going to focus on the execution and making sure that, you know, we’re preparing ourselves as best as we possibly can to go play this game against these guys on Friday night, and that’s it. Nothing else matters.”