Nick Saban Sends Strong Message To Ryan Day On 'College GameDay'

Ryan Day may have the best roster in college football at Ohio State, but he also has the largest expectations lying on his shoulders in 2024.

Following three straight losses to Michigan and now a 10-year national championship drought, Columbus is restless. Now that he's got a truly loaded roster from top to bottom and Jim Harbaugh is out of the way, there's no excuse in the way of an extraordinary season.

But handling such immense expectations won't be easy on Day, which is why the recently-retired Nick Saban offered him some advice on Saturday's edition of "College GameDay" on how to coach his teams through such a spotlight.

"Well, the biggest thing I always taught our players was: You gotta play one play at a time like it has a history, a life of its own," said Saban. "So, go have fun, compete, be the best player you can be, and the scoreboard means nothing. All these external factors mean nothing until the game is over."

Saban's always believed in this play-by-play mentality and urges Day to instill that same mindset in his squad to avoid allowing those outside expectations to impact the players.

"So prepare the way you prepare, don't worry about losing," added Saban. "Focus on what you have to do to be the best player you can be and just stay focused on that. And keep the team together. Forget about all these external factors."

Forget about "College GameDay" and anyone else's opinions, that's the key to avoiding the weight of expectation Ohio State has on them, according to the legendary Nick Saban.

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