The Ohio State Buckeyes lost on Saturday to the Oregon Ducks. It was their third defeat of the season, likely knocking them entirely out of the College Football Playoff race.
After the defeat, OSU head coach Ryan Day has caught plenty of heat, some of it deserved.
But some of the hate for Day has come for a reason that’s really hard to justify.
Fans are mad that Day watched his son play high school football the night before the game. Let’s break it down.
The facts are this: Day went to Massillon High School in northeast Ohio on Friday night, reportedly by plane, to watch a high school football game.
Day’s son RJ is the senior starting quarterback for Columbus St. Francis de Sales, and RJ’s team was playing at the storied Massillon program on Friday in the regional quarterfinal round of the OHSAA postseason.
The game had the potential to be the last one RJ ever played in high school before he goes off to be a quarterback elsewhere in the Big Ten at Northwestern.
Day was captured in photographs on the sideline wearing a purple sweatshirt, the color of St. Francis deSales.
It ended up not being a good night for the visitors — they lost 48-0 and got only two first downs against a team that will compete for a state championship.
Day then made it back to Columbus to make final preparations for Saturday afternoon’s game.
Some fans were making posts like this on social media:
Ryan Day took a private jet to Canton the day before the Oregon game to watch De Sales. Recruits in town and biggest games of the season and your head coach wasn’t even in the city. He does not care about this team or university. It’s beyond over. Fire everyone
— Mr.Cortez (@ScoutmasterRizz) November 7, 2026
Other fans were on that train, but a lot recognized the reality of the situation, too.
Ryan Day Justified
The reality is that no one should be blaming Day for going to watch his son play.
@ScoutmasterRizz tell me you don’t have a kid without telling me you don’t have a kid
— McNeil (@REFLOG18) November 8, 2026
One person who thinks that Day is justified: Massillon’s head coach, Nate Moore:
Everyone that matters respects this decision.
— Nate Moore (@CoachNMoore) November 9, 2026
There’s so much that Ohio State can be criticized for in recent weeks.
Day going to watch his son play his final high school game? That’s an entirely unfair thing to critique. Plenty of other coaches would’ve done the exact same thing, and even in the pressure cooker that is Ohio State, it’s fair for Day to simply be a dad once in a while.
Ohio State’s Ryan Day Under Fire for Terrible Reason