I saw someone attempt to compare Day’s, Tressel’s and Urban’s first 4 years, so I thought I’d make a post to discuss it:

Day:

13-1, B1G champ, finished #3

7-1, B1G champ, played in national title, finished #2

11-2, won rose bowl, finished #6

11-1, probably win rose bowl, finish top 5

currently 1-2 against Michigan (though should be 2-2)

Urban:

12-0, de facto B1G champ as they beat both teams in B1G championship game but ineligible, finished #3

12-2, B1G runner up, lost orange bowl, finished #12

14-1, B1G champ, national championship, finished #1

12-1, won fiesta bowl, finished #4

(4-0 against Michigan)

Tressel:

7-5, lost Outback bowl, finished unranked

14-0, B1G champ, national championship, finished #1

11-2, won Fiesta bowl, finished #4

8-4, won Alamo bowl, finished #20

(3-1 against Michigan, including two upsets of top 10 ranked Michigan teams while being unranked)

Of course, blind records do not tell the whole story. Tressel and Meyer essentially took over programs in shambles and won national championships in the first 3 seasons. Day was handed one of the most talented rosters in OSU history and proceeded to choke away a 16-0 lead to an obviously inferior Clemson team. He got revenge the next year and played in the national title game, but that team was essentially carried by Justin Fields and we nearly lost to Northwestern due to his stubborn play calling. These past two years he’s lost to lower ranked Michigan teams in non competitive fashion. 

In Tressel’s 5th season, he went 10-2 with a Fiesta Bowl win, but beat Michigan and likely would’ve beat national champ Texas if the Zwick/Smith fiasco wasn’t a thing. In Urban’s 5th season, he went 11-2, beat a really good Michigan team, but didn’t make the conference championship game and got blown out by Clemson in the playoff. What does Day have to do this next season to keep his job? Would just beating Michigan be enough?