What did Lou Holtz say about the Ohio State Buckeyes football team?
It’s been two days since the legendary former Notre Dame coach took a jab at Ohio State. Needless to say, there has been backlash, but what exactly did he say?
When the former “Fighting Irish” coach took aim at the Buckeyes, it was always going to ignite a war of words, however, what he couldn’t have seen coming was his team getting defeated by the very side he criticized.
The Context: Lou Holtz’s not-so-nice take on Ohio State & Ryan Day
As you may know by now, the Ohio State Buckeyes took down Notre Dame in a closely contested 17-14 win on Sunday. What you might not have known, however, is that the game was played within the context of a rather testy take from former Notre Dame head coach Lou Holtz, the man who won a national championship with the program back in 1988. Holtz who appeared recently on “The Pat McAfee Show” had some choice words for the Buckeyes and even their coach, Ryan Day.
“Notre Dame is a better football team than Ohio State,” Holtz said during his appearance on the show. “You look at coach [Ryan] Day, and I coached at Ohio State under Woody Hayes. We won the national championship when I was there. I’m proud of that. However, [Day] has lost to Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, Michigan twice and everybody beats them because they’re more physical than Ohio State. And I think Notre Dame will take that same approach.”
The Result: Ryan Day hits back at Lou Holtz
We don’t have to tell you that those words weren’t well received, nor should it come as a surprise that Day had a rather fiery response following his team’s win over Holtz’s. Speaking after his team’s hard-fought win, Day got straight to the point as he addressed Holtz’s previous comments.
“I’d like to know where Lou Holtz is right now. What he said about our team, I cannot believe,” Day said. “This is a tough team right here. We’re proud to be from Ohio. It’s always been Ohio against the world. And it will continue to be Ohio against the world. I love those kids and we’ve got a tough team.”
The details: How Ohio State clinched the win against Notre Dame
By the time the third quarter rolled around, Ohio State had already managed to grind out a 10-0 lead over Notre Dame, however, as is their way, the Irish fought back to take a 14-10 lead with 8:22 on the clock. As time ticked away the Buckeyes were faced with one last chance to win the game with 1:26 left in the game. On the back of Kyle McCord’s impressive drive, the team found itself at Notre Dame’s 1-yard line, and as if scripted for a sports drama on TV, it was running back Chip Trayanum who broke the line to a dramatic last-ditch win, while taking his team to a 4-0 record for the season so far. Meanwhile, Notre Dame slipped to 4-1.
Where Day is concerned, his record with Ohio State now stands at 49-6 which has to be considered more than impressive. On the other hand, there are those who have often criticized the coach for the Buckeyes’ performances in the games that truly counted e.g., the losses to long-term rival Michigan over the last two campaigns. There are of course games that remain to be played against top-10 teams such as Penn State and the aforementioned Michigan, but rest assured the win that the Buckeyes just recorded, and the context of it will go a long way toward helping them overcome those obstacles when they meet them, not to mention increasing Day’s credit with fans.