JUST NOW: The pressure on Ryan Day and Ohio State in this CFP…

Ohio State coach Ryan Day had his left hand on his hip and his right arm around cornerback Jermaine Mathews Jr.

As the Ohio State band played “Carmen Ohio” following another loss to rival Michigan on Nov. 30, and the team gathered — as it does after every home game — to sing along, Day glanced up at the scoreboard. Boos rained down from the Ohio Stadium crowd, drowning out the alma mater.

Suddenly, Mathews turned and sprinted toward midfield, where the Wolverines had planted their flag. Day turned to see what was happening but, as if frozen in shock, only took a few steps and watched as players from both schools clashed — a melee that lasted five minutes and left a university police officer hospitalized. Police finally quashed the brawl, but only after deploying pepper spray.

The loss and the ugly scene that followed marked a low point for Day, Ohio State’s sixth-year coach, after a tenure that began with incredible promise. He won 42 of his first 46 games with the Buckeyes as head coach, claiming two Big Ten championships and reaching the national title game in his second full season. Day still boasts a 66-10 overall record. Only Urban Meyer, the man Day worked under and eventually replaced, has a better winning percentage among Ohio State coaches who lasted three or more seasons. But four consecutive losses to Michigan, no Big Ten titles since 2020 and no national championships have ratcheted up the pressure on Day and a team Ohio State invested $20 million in to retain and upgrade this offseason.

But despite the worst loss of Day’s career, Ohio State isn’t finished, having advanced to the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff. The eighth-seeded Buckeyes will host No. 9 seed Tennessee in the first round Saturday night (8 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN).

For Ohio State’s seniors, who will end their careers without a win over Michigan or a Big Ten title, the upcoming CFP will be their last opportunity to leave with a true milestone.

Day’s future as Ohio State coach in 2025 and beyond has been a sweltering topic since the latest Michigan loss. First-year Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork, who did not hire Day, said last week he’s “absolutely” confident Day will return in 2025, regardless of how the team performs in the CFP.

“Coach Day is awesome,” Bjork told 97.1 FM The Fan in Columbus. “He’s great to work with. He totally gets it. He loves being a Buckeye. So we’re going to support him at the highest level.”

But before the season, those close to the program told ESPN that anything short of a win over Michigan or a deep run in the playoff could prompt Ohio State to consider a coaching change. Day would be owed more than $38 million if fired, sources said, an amount that could ultimately make a change prohibitive.

Since that stunning 13-10 loss to the Wolverines, who came to Columbus as three-touchdown underdogs, some vocal sections of the Buckeye fan base have been clamoring for Day’s firing — even though he’s 47-1 against Big Ten opponents other than Michigan.

“You got the second winningest coach [by percentage] in the history of Ohio State, and you keep reading about the pressure,” former Buckeyes athletic director Gene Smith told ESPN. “Well, that’s what you signed up for. But this win-or-lose-your-job mentality is absolutely ridiculous.”

Whether it’s ridiculous or reality, Day enters the CFP with a heavier burden than any other coach. He leads a program where expectations have been elevated for generations without relenting and where outcomes against Michigan overshadow just about every other achievement (or demerit).

But thanks to the expanded CFP, he still has a chance to achieve something even greater.

“We’re in the playoffs now. That game is behind us,” Day said this week. “The [result] is never going to change, it’s never going to change here at Ohio State. However, the playoffs have. The expanded playoffs have. … So all right, we’re in this thing.”