"We fight like heck" - Ryan Day gives justification for the Ohio State Buckeyes' championship drought

The Ohio State Buckeyes have failed to win a national championship under coach Ryan Day. While they have made the College Football Playoff (CFP) in three of his four full seasons as coach, they have gone 1-3 in those games.

After back-to-back losses to the Michigan Wolverines in "The Game," there has been speculation that Day's seat could begin to heat up. The Buckeyes coach weighed in on falling short of expectations while speaking with ESPN's Heather Dinich and said:

"The expectation here every year is the same. Win the rivalry game, win the Big Ten and win the national championship. We fight like heck to do that, and we're right there. You can feel it, you can taste it, and that's motivated the guys this offseason.

"When you get that close and you don't get there, you didn't get it done, and it certainly does motivate."

In regards to the Buckeyes' goal of another national championship, he added:

"We don't have a choice. The expectation is that you do. The rivalry game is obviously very important, and when you look at those games, and you see the single plays that really cost us the game, when you're talking about on defense giving up explosive plays, that's very important, that's how games can go sideways.

"We have to identify that and get that fixed. That hurt us in the Georgia game (a 42-41 loss in the Peach Bowl in the CFP semifinals last season) as well."

While Day holds a 45-6 record, the expectations as the coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes are different from nearly every collegiate program. It seems that he understands that as he looks to get the program back to where they expect to be in 2023.

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Can the Ohio State Buckeyes win the national championship next season?

The Ohio State Buckeyes are going on nearly a decade without a national championship despite having plenty of talent come through Columbus over that timespan. Ohio State is currently tied with the Alabama Crimson Tide for the second-best odds to win the title, trailing only the Georgia Bulldogs.

In order to accomplish their goal, the Buckeyes will need Kyle McCord, who will replace CJ Stroud under center, to step up in a big way. While they have all the pieces offensively and defensively to win a title, there is uncertainty at the most important position as McCord has attempted just 58 passes in two seasons.

He has shown flashes of potential, completing 70.7% of his passes for 606 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. If he is able to fill Stroud's shoes, the Ohio State Buckeyes should once again contend for a title.