Ryan Day ripped into the College Football Playoffs scheduling, despite becoming the national champion with the Ohio State Buckeyes as they defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 34-23 on January 20.
Will Howard starred on the day at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium to deliver glory to his college and to realise a dream in the 24-year-old’s budding football career, as he was also named MVP for the game.
It was a landmark moment for all involved, but reflecting on the run to the final game of the season, the 45-year-old revealed it wasn’t as perfect as he hoped as the CFB launched its new 12-team playoffs format.
“Frustrating is probably a fair word to use,” Day said to ESPN, with how it impacted the transfer portal and NIL values as the organization tried to focus on their run to the national championship game.
Currently, Ohio State have six transfers preparing to join them and they had to sign all of the names during the run through the College Football Playoffs, forcing extra time away from the field they could have used to prepare.
The window opened on December 9 and close on December 28; which was six days after the side faced the Tennessee Volunteers in the First Round, and three days before they clashed with the first-seeded Oregon Ducks in the Rose Bowl.
Ohio State used the time to sign Max Klare (tight end) Ethan Onianwa and Phillip Daniels (offensive tackle), Ty Howard (linebacker), Logan George (edge rusher) and finally CJ Donaldson (running back).
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Eventually they managed to fend off the threats, as well as going on to beat the Texas Longhorns in the CFP semifinals, to book their clash with Notre Dame in Georgia to realize their destiny at the home of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons.
Now the Ohio State Buckeyes can enjoy their status as champions before turning their attention to the start of the 2025/26 NCAA college football season, which is due to begin on Saturday, August 30.