Pete Thamel debates how Michigan loss impacts legacy of Ohio State season

Pete Thamel debated how the Michigan loss impacts Ohio State’s national championship-winning season and said it won’t matter in the grand scheme of things.

Sure, “The Game” means more than any other rivalry game it seems. In a year without the 12-team playoff, the Michigan loss might’ve ended Ohio State’s season and maybe Ryan Day’s position as head coach. At least, some fans were calling for that outcome.

But winning four in a row in the playoff and ending as the best team in the sport can erase some bad memories.

“I believe they have five top five wins, and they become the first team in their shirt college football to beat five top five teams,” Thamel said on The College GameDay Podcast. “It’s a remarkable gauntlet that they went through. And this game epitomized who they are. They didn’t make anything easy, right? I mean, they had to play a road game at home. They didn’t, obviously, win the conference title … And they took a game that was like, basically, they were toe tagging the game, and they made it go down to the final seconds … 

“It was Tony Bennett, except for him it was the next yea. For (Ryan) Day it was the next month. You know, it’s the full depths to height in, you know, America loves a comeback story, and that’s what Ohio State is.”

A comeback story Ohio State was, despite the preseason expectations and the criticism following the regular season finale. Day felt all of that on his shoulders.

For straight losses to Michigan is not easy to withstand and it was clear he was on shaky ground, despite backing from the Ohio State administration.

But in the end, the Buckeyes withstood the onslaught of critique and negativity and stood alone at the top.

“You’ve got to be strong enough to withstand those storms, to come out the back end,” Day said. “And now it’s an even better story. Nothing’s guaranteed, but I always, in the back of my mind, felt that the people of Ohio and all of Buckeye Nation, after going through difficult times and seeing a team and a bunch of coaches go through difficult times achieve their goal it would mean even more. I hope they’re all proud of what we’ve done.”