Hey all -

I thought this was a pretty interesting take from Barton Simmons over at 247Sports about our new-look Ohio State team.

“Do you guys find Ohio State to be more likable this year?” Simmons said on the latest Cover 3 Podcast. “I mean, I’ve never like consciously disliked Ohio State, but I just find myself – it’s almost like the disciplinarian father is gone and has been replaced by the cool older brother or something in Ryan Day. And it’s just, I don’t know, it’s a loose group.

At first glance, I obviously went into auto-defense mode of our team, but then I realized that I sort of feel the same way. There is something looser and more relaxed about this team, from top to bottom. I am not entirely sure Urban was the "Darth Vader" of coaches that he's suggested as being, but no one would deny Day obviously has a lighter touch.

“I think they’ve always been a likable team from like the player standpoint, but just sort of this Darth Vader presence at the top, maybe, is no longer there. And now all of the sudden it feels like it’s a team of the people or something, too. It’s this dominant juggernaut team that’s also like this, I don’t know, it’s just sort of a vibe and I don’t know how to describe it. I don’t know if I’m alone there.”

Granted, destroying your competition makes feeling "loose" a little bit easier, as well as not having your linebackers constantly chasing subpar running backs after being misaligned.

With that said, having a juggernaut team and being "liked" is not an easy thing to do, and if Day can keep up that fun/focused/dominant aura they're currently enjoying I imagine there will be more and bigger #booms in the future coming to Columbus. However, as Urban (and Saban) discovered, I'd imagine there is a balance between being liked...and feared, right? Ultimately, rings are the goal and those men have two handfuls between them.

What say you?

https://247sports.com/Article/Ohio-State-Football-Are-Buckeyes-more-lika...