Lou Holtz drops Ohio State five spots in poll despite having a bye week

The greatest rivalry in college football at the moment may be Lou Holtz vs. the Ohio State Buckeyes. Tension began to boil over when Holtz called out Ryan Day over his team’s physicality heading into their road matchup against Notre Dame. Ohio State responded in big fashion, earning a big win in South Bend with a last-second touchdown on the goal line.

Well, the pettiness between the two has continued heading into Week 6.

Holtz is a voter in the Football Writers Association of America and National Football Foundation “Super 16” poll. After Ohio State’s win against Notre Dame, he placed them at No. 4. A respectable spot considering what teams ahead of them have accomplished.

Following the Buckeyes taking a week off, they have dropped down five spots in Holtz’s eyes. He has them at No. 9 in the country moving into a huge matchup against Maryland. Michigan, Georgia, Oregon, Texas, Washington, Florida State, Penn State, and Oklahoma (in that order) are all ahead of Ohio State per the Columbus Dispatch.

That would mean four teams jumped over Ohio State. Washington won by a touchdown against Arizona. Florida State did not play either, having a bye week. Penn State took care of business against Northwestern and Oklahoma beat Iowa State in Norman.

Maybe Saturday’s game against Maryland will inspire some confidence in Ohio State from Holtz. Mike Locksley has his team undefeated and heading into the Shoe with upset aspirations. Day will once again be looking to prove his team is able to play a physical style of football against a a quality opponent.

Lou Holtz calls out Ryan Day and gets response postgame

Holtz was on the Pat McAfee Show leading into the Notre Dame-Ohio State game and said part of the reason big-name programs beat the Buckeyes was because of their lack of physicality.

“He has lost to Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, Michigan twice — and everybody who beats them does so because they’re more physical than Ohio State,” Holtz said. “I think Notre Dame will take that same approach.”

Well, Ohio State got the win and Day then responded to Holtz unprompted during his postgame interview on NBC.

“Toughness,” Day said. “That’s it. Physicality across the board, finish it off, having guts. 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. It will continue to be Ohio against the world.

“But I will tell you what. I love those kids and we’ve got a tough team.”