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Lou Holtz is taking shots at Ohio State again, and Buckeye fans won’t like what he’s saying. The Hall of Fame coach isn’t impressed with Ryan Day’s squad despite their season-opening 14-7 win over preseason No. 1 Texas.
“You remember me telling you, I don’t think Ohio State’s a great football team,” Holtz said in an interview with Outkick. “I know their schedule is very, very good, but when you’re at home and you’re outgained by well over 100 yards, you just can’t look at it and say, ‘OK, we’re great. We won the game.’ They are 1-0 and that’s the objective they had going in that game, but they’re not a great football team. I would not be overwhelmed about facing Ohio State.”
The 88-year-old former Notre Dame coach did throw a small bone to the Buckeyes’ defense under new coordinator Matt Patricia. But that’s about where the compliments ended. Instead, Holtz framed Texas as a team that simply didn’t play well enough to win rather than Ohio State dominating.
The Michigan Factor
Holtz — who coached Notre Dame to the 1988 national title — hasn’t forgotten his Ohio roots or the importance of The Game. He even recalled his time as an assistant under the legendary Woody Hayes.
“I think Michigan could be a very, very good football team,” Holtz said. “Lord knows, Michigan better not beat Ohio State again.”
That’s a sore spot in Columbus these days.
The Wolverines have taken four straight from the Buckeyes — their longest winning streak in the rivalry since the Roaring Twenties. Another loss to Michigan would be catastrophic for Day’s standing with the Ohio State faithful, regardless of what happened against Texas.
This isn’t the first time Holtz has gotten under Day’s skin. Back in 2023, his pregame comments before Ohio State’s dramatic win at Notre Dame lit a fire under the Buckeyes’ coach.
Day’s postgame interview became an instant classic: “I’d like to know where Lou Holtz is right now. What he said about our team, I cannot believe. This is a tough team right here. We’re proud to be from Ohio. It’s always been Ohio against the world. And it’ll continue to be Ohio against the world. But I’ll tell you what, I love those kids and we got a tough team.”
While Holtz later apologized to Marcus Freeman for dragging Notre Dame into the feud, he doubled down on his criticism of the Buckeyes.
The Feud Continues
Even after Ohio State defeated Notre Dame in last January’s College Football Playoff championship game, Holtz couldn’t resist taking another dig.
“Ryan Day can be Ryan Day and do whatever he wants,” Holtz said. “I did write him a congratulatory letter, but I never heard back from him. I’m sure he could write, but in any event he did not answer the letter, but that’s his alternative. And he’s obviously a good coach, he’s a good recruiter, he’s a good coach. You look at his win-loss record, it’s really tremendous. But let’s not get overwhelmed, because the Big Ten doesn’t have that many great football teams in it this year, but we’ll find out.”
The backhanded compliments keep coming — acknowledging Day’s coaching abilities while simultaneously diminishing the competition he faces.
Despite Holtz’s skepticism, the Buckeyes are sitting pretty. Their victory against Texas launched them to No. 1 in both major polls, making them the team with the target on their back.
Maybe that’s exactly where Ryan Day wants them — with another chip on their shoulder courtesy of Lou Holtz.
