Michigan Legend Comes to Ryan Day’s Defense as Lou Holtz Adds Fire to Ongoing OSU Controversy

Mark the date: 9.5.2025. A sight no one thought they’d live to see actually happened. The great divide of the Midwest cracked for a brief moment, with a Michigan man rushing to the defense of Ohio State’s Ryan Day. Why? Because Lou Holtz, at 88 years old and no longer working for ESPN after leaving in March, decided to stir the pot again. The College Football Hall of Fame coach from East Liverpool, Ohio, has been locked in this strange, personal feud with Day since 2023, and even a statement Week 1 win over then-No. 1 Texas wasn’t enough to cool it.

Lou Holtz doubled down, saying he still doesn’t see a “great football team” in Columbus. His words hit so hard that blood rivals suddenly sounded like allies. Speaking with Dan Dakich on OutKick, Holtz went back to the same critique that launched this storyline two years ago. “You remember me telling you, I don’t think Ohio State’s a great football team,” Holtz said. “When you’re at home and you’re outgained by well over 100 yards, you just can’t look at it and say, ‘Okay, we’re great.’” It was a pointed jab at a Buckeyes squad that had just beaten Texas 14–7 and climbed to No. 1 in the polls.

And just like in 2023, when he called Ohio State “not physical enough” to beat Notre Dame and set off Day’s emotional NBC rant, Holtz refused to let it go. That’s fine as long as someone is hating on OSU, why would any Michigan notable bother. He praised the Buckeyes’ defense under new leadership but painted a bigger picture of mediocrity, saying the Big Ten “doesn’t have that many great football teams this year.” That’s where the fuse got lit in Ann Arbor. Former Michigan tight end Jake Butt heard that line and immediately fired back. “The Big Ten doesn’t have many great teams this year?” he shot back, defending the league that had just sent Michigan and Ohio State into back-to-back CFP finals.

Butt wasn’t alone in bristling, but his voice carried weight. This was a Michigan alum standing up for his school’s archrival, even if indirectly, because Holtz’s comments weren’t just about Ohio State anymore—they were about the Big Ten as a whole. When Holtz added, “we’ll have to see how good Michigan is,” it was gasoline on a rivalry fire that never really needs fuel. Imagine the backlash if Michigan were to notch a fourth, maybe even fifth straight win over the Buckeyes this fall.

The irony is that Ryan Day has owned Holtz’s alma mater. The Buckeyes beat Notre Dame three straight years from 2022 to 2024, including both ends of their home-and-home and last year’s national championship. Each time, they imposed their toughness in the trenches, the exact thing Holtz has claimed they lack. After the 17–14 win in 2023, Day couldn’t resist swinging back. “I’d like to know where Lou Holtz is right now,” Day fumed in his on-field interview and declaring, “it’s always been Ohio against the world.”

It quickly became a meme, but it also demonstrated the intensity Coach Day exhibits when he is being questioned. Holtz also talked trash before the title game last year. Holtz suggested the Irish losing would only “preserve Ryan Day’s job.” He has not forgotten that moment and is still holding it against him. Yet the facts keep standing in Day’s corner.

Salty letters and silent replies: The Ryan Day-Lou Holtz cold war

If you’re wondering why Lou Holtz just won’t let his feud with Ryan Day die, well, maybe this explains it. Holtz revealed he actually tried to extend an olive branch—at least in his own way. He said he sent Ryan Day a letter after one of Ohio State’s big wins, only to be left on read. “Ryan Day, he can do whatever he wants. I did write him a congratulatory letter, but I never heard back from him. I’m sure he can write. In any event, he did not answer the letter, but that’s his alternative.”

Now, maybe Holtz thought that note would thaw things out. Instead, the silence seems to have fueled his salty streak. He did toss in some compliments—calling Day “a good recruiter” and “obviously a good coach”—but of course, he couldn’t resist one last jab. Holtz made sure to remind everyone that the Buckeyes “still have to prove themselves as the season progresses.”

The Ohio State coach also doesn’t respect people who insult his program from the outside, who don’t follow the team on a day-to-day basis, which is what Holtz did to start everything off. Maybe Holtz didn’t watch OSU’s win over Texas too closely. The Longhorns piled up their yardage mostly in garbage time after falling behind 14-0. Day’s team controlled the game wire-to-wire. So, no, these two won’t be exchanging Christmas cards anytime soon.