Paul Finebaum: College football, Ryan Day biggest beneficiaries of Jim Harbaugh exit to NFL

With Jim Harbaugh heading back to the NFL, the college football landscape will have yet another drastic difference in 2024 from new faces on the sidelines to a 12-team College Football Playoff. But perhaps no one has benefitted quite like Ohio State head coach Ryan Day.

ESPN and SEC Network college football maven Paul Finebaum discussed how Harbaugh’s move to the Los Angeles Chargers changes the dynamics of the sport at a time of critical change. And how Day is maybe in the best position to benefit.

“One other beneficiary of this, believe it or not, is Ryan Day, who has lost three straight,” Finebaum said on SportsCenter on Thursday. “He has just had the greatest offseason haul we’ve ever seen, grabbing a couple of players from Alabama, a quarterback from K-State. The pressure is on him, though. He will be the favorite in the Big Ten, he’ll be the No. 1 pick, perhaps either them or Georgia. But he better beat Michigan with a new coach.”

And aside from the top transfers that Ohio State brought in — safety Caleb Downs, running back Quinshon Judkins and quarterback Will Howard — the Buckeyes work in retaining talent, namely on the defensive side, should pay dividends in the new-look Big Ten.

But, as Finebaum noted, that also means the pressure is on Day and Co. to produce a league title and probably more. All at a time where the landscape beyond Michigan’s head coach is also rapidly shifting.

Not only is the 12-team College Football Playoff coming, but so are four new teams in the Big Ten: Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington.

And with these ground shifts to the sport, Finebaum doesn’t think the departure of Harbaugh, who was the biggest name in the coaching ranks after the retirement of Nick Saban, will do anything to put a damper on the new age of the sport.

“I think it’s going to survive Jim Harbaugh,” Finebaum said. “But it’s interesting, Matt, the fact that Jim Harbaugh as of early yesterday afternoon, early evening was the biggest name in the sport because of Saban’s departure two weeks and a day ago. But I think the sport is in very good shape, especially with what is happening. It’s the biggest year we’ve ever had, at least in modern times. You have the 12-team playoff and you have the two super leagues, the SEC taking in two, Oklahoma and Texas, and obviously the Big Ten is bringing in the four from the Pac-12. And I think that makes a different type of game because the attention is all on those two leagues.”