ESPN writer's ranking of Ohio State football head coach Ryan Day in 2026 college head coach rankings is borderline disrespectful

ESPN writer's ranking of Ohio State football head coach Ryan Day in 2026 college head coach rankings is borderline disrespectful

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ESPN writer's ranking of Ohio State football head coach Ryan Day in 2026 college head coach rankings is borderline disrespectful
Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day leads warm ups prior to the College Football Playoff quarterfinal against the Oregon Ducks at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. on Jan. 1, 2025.
Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day leads warm ups prior to the College Football Playoff quarterfinal against the Oregon Ducks at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. on Jan. 1, 2025. Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

ESPN has put out their college football head coach rankings for the 2026 season. Ryan Day has a new spot after being dropped by the outlet.

The Ohio State Buckeyes are expected to beat Michigan, win the Big Ten, and compete for a national championship every season in Columbus. Those are always the expectations Ryan Day is facing with the football program year in and year out. 

Reaching all three of those is hard, Ohio State didn't do it two years ago when they won it all. But still, those are the expectations and Day himself is very open about the fact. 

Day is amongst the best coaches in the college football world, and it's hard to view him outside of the top 3 with what he's done in Columbus. 

Ryan Day has a new spot in ESPN's CFB head coach rankings 

The Buckeyes’ head coach has dropped one spot to now be No. 3 in the latest head coach rankings in college football via ESPN. Indiana HC Curt Cignetti's jump to the top of the game has him at No. 1 and Georgia's Kirby Smart dropped a spot to No. 2 as a result.   

ESPN's Bill Connelly ranked Day at the No. 8 spot, and was the only person to have the Ohio State head coach ranked below four. 

"It's just really hard to evaluate the performance of a successful Ohio State head coach, as it has been the most consistently awesome program in the nation for decades," Connelly wrote. "I may have dropped Day too far after last season, but I just didn’t think he stuck the landing at all in 2025. When it was time to help that offense shift into gear late and ramp up the tempo and the risk profile against elite opponents, Day just couldn’t do it."

I’m not an Ohio State fan, but I was yelling at the TV during the Miami CFP game because the Buckeyes just refused to pick up the pace in the second half when they were down multiple scores. They weren’t up for the task late in the season, and it cost them. Eighth is probably too low, but I guess it could be considered a challenge for 2026."

Ryan Day is undoubtedly one of the top 3 coaches in the sport

To have Day at No. 8 in college football is just a silly move. He's one of three active head coaches with a national championship and has an 82-12 record over eight seasons. Day has never lost more than two games in a season at Ohio State and has at least 11 wins every season outside of the year shortened by COVID-19. 

Ohio State comes with more pressure than probably any other job in college football. Day took over a really good program and there's been zero fall off, they have only leveled up. An easy choice as one of the game's best right now.  

This article was originally published on A to Z Sports. Read the full story here: ESPN writer's ranking of Ohio State football head coach Ryan Day in 2026 college head coach rankings is borderline disrespectful

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