Relax, Ohio State fans.
That’s what legendary college football coach Nick Saban is telling Buckeye Nation before they kick off their College Football Playoff run on Saturday against Tennessee.
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day has come under fire in recent weeks after finishing the regular season with a 13-10 upset loss to bitter rival Michigan, leading some to call for his job — especially if the Buckeyes fall short of a national championship once again.
But that talk is nonsense, Saban claimed on the set of ESPN’s “College GameDay” on Friday.
“They have an opportunity to win the national championship. Everybody ought to be supporting the hell out of them so that they have the best opportunity to do it and quit all this negative bulls–t,” Saban said.
Before calling out the fans, Saban had a message for the Buckeye players and coaches: Stop listening to the social media critics.
“I used to tell the players all the time: Why do you care about what some guy puts on the Internet who’s a fat guy in his underwear living in his mother’s basement? Why do you care? Why does that mean anything to you? Why does that affect you in any way shape or form?” Saban said.
“We should be focused on what we control and what we can do. And it’s the same thing for the fans. I would tell the fans the same thing: If Ohio State wants to beat Michigan, they need to be positive about their coach and the players. There’s nobody who wants to beat them worse than the players and the coaches.”
Saban’s colleague, Desmond Howard, a former Michigan wide receiver, had different thoughts on Day.
Speaking on Day’s 66-10 record at Ohio State, Howard implied it could have been even better, considering the talent he’s overseen during his six-plus-year tenure.
“That’s because the 10 [losses] are normally teams who are equal to him, as far as roster and talent. Now, you’re talking about other teams that he’s been able to beat, those teams normally don’t have four- or five-star guys when he’s went up against these other teams,” Howard said.
“So far, his record — especially against top-five or top-10 opponents — should only give you reasonable doubt. He hasn’t earned the benefit of the doubt yet.”
The Buckeyes have finished in the top 10 in the AP poll in each of Day’s five full seasons, making the national championship game in 2021 before falling to Saban’s Alabama Crimson Tide.