Lou Holtz hits back at Ohio State coach Ryan Day while defending his jab at the Buckeyes. What did he say?
With things heating up between the former Fighting Irish coach and his counterpart who is the current coach of the Buckeyes, this is now a proper feud.
Prior to last Saturday’s showdown between Notre Dame and Ohio State, the Fighting Irish’s legendary former coach took aim at the Buckeyes and their current coach. Needless to say, the latter fired back. Now it seems the confrontation is set to continue with the veteran responding in kind.
What’s happened between Ryan Day & Lou Holtz so far?
If you didn’t catch our previous report, then let’s bring you up to speed. Last Saturday, No. 4 Ohio State and No. 11 Notre Dame tangled, and in the end it was the Buckeyes who came out victorious, however, that was only a piece of the pie. Prior to the game, Notre Dame’s coaching legend, Lou Holtz gave his thoughts - you can see them in the aforementioned previous report - on Ohio State and current coach Ryan Day. He was not kind. Indeed, Holtz questioned the physicality of the team especially when faced with top-tier competition. For his part, Day did not like that one bit and proceeded to call out Holtz post-game, after seeing his team secure a last-second 17-14 win over the Fighting Irish.
“I’d like to know where Lou Holtz is right now,” Day said after the win. “What he said about our team, I cannot believe. This is a tough team right here. We’re proud to be from Ohio. It’s always been Ohio against the world, and it’ll continue to be Ohio against the world.” You can see where this is going.
So, what has Lou Holtz said since?
With the kind of fire that was fueled, you can probably imagine that it wasn’t going to be long before Holtz hit back. On Tuesday, the 86-year-old spoke directly to Day’s comments while defending his own about Ohio State’s team. During an appearance on the Don’t @ Me with Dan Dakich podcast, this is what Holtz had to say:
“That’s his choice. I can understand why he did,” Holtz said during his appearance on the podcast. “He doesn’t want to talk about Michigan (because he’s) 0-2. He doesn’t want to talk about the big game coming up against Penn State and against Michigan again. He’s a great coach. He’s done a great job. He’s a great offensive mind. He hired an outstanding defensive coordinator from Oklahoma State (Jim Knowles), who is doing a tremendous job for him. Ohio State is a good football team. I don’t think they are a great football team. He can go after me all he wants.”
Lou Holtz also took a parting shot
It’s worth noting that Notre Dame and Ohio State could in fact meet once again this year if both teams manage to qualify for the College Football Playoff. As you can probably guess Holtz thinks his team will come out on top if that proves to be the case. “I honestly felt that Notre Dame was a better football team and more physical, and I am sorry that Coach Day was offended by it,” Holtz said. “I hope he goes on and has a wonderful year. I don’t think they will be a great football team. I really don’t. I felt Notre Dame (could have) won the football game.”