Last season’s NCAAF saw the Ohio State Buckeyes crowned as the final champions after a tough regular season and even more challenging playoffs. On this situation, and with the sole aim of making the experience even more rewarding for the players, coach Ryan Day suggested certain changes to make the CFP more satisfying for the athletes.
“First off, the experience is something we really got to learn from,” Day stated on The Triple Option. “You know, I think that the player experience can be much better. I think that the focus needs to be on the players, and I think we need to look at a lot of it. Because, you know, the National Championship is not run by a bowl. The other ones are but, even the ones that are run by a bowl, as you guys remember, there used to be events. There was a lot that came with that. Now that’s no longer the case.
Additionally, the coach recalculated the difference between going on the road for a playoff game and playing in the traditional bowl: “It’s just like being on a road game, except you’re there a day earlier, but there’s no events like nobody going on any events, nobody’s leaving the hotel.”
“I think that, you know, we need to consider moving the hotels outside of these big cities, because we’re not going to these events anymore. So I think being a little bit more secluded and looking at some of those locations is just better for everybody, especially for the players. We need to pour it into the players.
Head coach Ryan Day of the Ohio State Buckeyes looks on during the second quarter against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the 2025 CFP National Championship at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 20, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia.
“These are the guys that are doing the work. So I think that we need, you know, the best food there is that could possibly serve these guys. I think it should be the best conditions. I think we should try to find as many mementos for these guys that possibly can be done, just little things that money can’t buy, but it stays with them forever,” he finally concluded.
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The problem with winning the championship
Winning the championship in College Football is the main goal, of course. However, it also comes with its downsides: being the last to finish the calendar, less time for preparation, and fewer chances to recruit players.
“I think maybe it was Belichick or somebody who said they’re champagne problems, you know, win one, there’s a lot that comes with that,” Day said on The Triple Option. “And I think for us, because we ended the season so much later than almost everybody in the country, so many staffs were set. We missed a couple weeks of recruiting. You think about that Tennessee game, it was played on December 21, we ended the season on January 20. So that’s different. I think that’s significant,’
“And so after the confetti falls, and you know, there’s going to be things like this to come up, to get to your point, like there’s going to be opportunity for guys and but, you know, we have a core in place here,” Ryan Day also added. “We want to make sure that there’s consistency in all three phases. And you know, when you talk about our offense and what Brian Hartline has done in recruiting, and you know, he was the coordinator, and then Chip came in … now he’s the coordinator. You know, this is a guy who’s paid his dues here.
“You know, he didn’t just jump to the next job, he learned and grew and got better with every year. Receiver play is the best there is in the country. And so, you know, you get guys like Keenan Bailey and different people within the program that you just want to work with. But with the guys in place, Day maintained consistency because the messaging is the same for Ohio State, just with some tweaks.”
