"I don’t think they’ll be a great football team" - Former Notre Dame HC Lou Holtz fires back at Ryan Day's Ohio State
Longtime Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Lou Holtz has doubled down on his comments against Ohio State Buckeyes coach Ryan Day.
Ahead of Notre Dame vs. Ohio State on Saturday, Holtz made a bold claim that Day's team is weak and they get bullied in the trenches.
Those comments fired up Day, as after the Buckeyes won, he took aim at Holtz in his interview following the game. However, Holtz went on OutKick’s “Don't @ Me with Dan Dakich” on Tuesday and doubled down on his comments.
“I honestly felt Notre Dame was a better football team and more physical. I’m sorry that Coach Day was offended by it. I hope he goes on and has a wonderful year. I don’t think they’ll be a great football team. I really don’t. I felt Notre Dame won the football game. All we had to do was fall on the ball. The last two minutes, the opposition is not Ohio State. The opposition is the clock."
Ohio State did have to drive down the field and get a touchdown with no time on the clock to get the 17-14 win. It was a heartbreaking loss for the Fighting Irish and Lou Holtz disclosed that he called Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman after the game to apologize for his comments that fired up Ryan Day and the Buckeyes.
“I called Coach Freeman and apologized because I put him in a bad position. Maybe. I don’t feel bad about saying it, because I believed it. Any time you put a team at a disadvantage and you can't control the outcome of the game, that's wrong."
It was a bit of a surprise that Holtz didn't apologize to Day, but the Hall of Famer thinks his comments were more than fair.
Lou Holtz continues to take aim at Ryan Day
Not only did Lou Holtz not apologize, but he doubled down on his comments.
Holtz also believes Day is making this a bigger deal due to the fact that the Buckeyes want Notre Dame as their rival and not Michigan because Ohio State can't beat Michigan.
“That’s his choice. I can understand why he did. He doesn’t want to talk about Michigan. 0-2. He doesn’t want to talk about the big game coming up against Penn State and against Michigan again.
"He’s a great coach. He’s a tremendous coach. He’s a great offensive mind. He hired an outstanding defensive coordinator from Oklahoma State who is doing a tremendous job. Ohio State is a good football team, but I don’t think they’re a great football team.”
Lou Holtz certainly has a point, but Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes are confident they will beat Michigan this year.