Ryan Day Is Just 5 Weeks Away From Becoming the Most Successful FBS College Football Coach in History

We all know college football doesn’t hand out crowns easily—but here’s the plot twist. We might be literally watching history get written in real time in just a matter of weeks. Forget the debates about SEC or Big Ten dominance or who’s the best quarterback in 2025. The real story is sitting on the sideline in Columbus. Ohio State head coach Ryan Day is knocking on the door of immortality—and it only takes five weeks to kick it wide open.

Since taking the keys in 2019, Ryan Day has turned Ohio State into a winning factory. The Buckeyes have piled up 71 wins against just 10 losses under his watch, putting his career win rate at an eye-watering 87.7%. Currently, the legendary Notre Dame head coach Knute Rockne sits at the top position with a win percentage of 88.1% and a record of 102-12-5. Ryan Day is second on the list.

Among active head coaches, only Kirby Smart makes it to the top 10 of the last, apart from Day. The Georgia head coach has registered a win rate of 84.8% over his tenure with the Bulldogs. It’s highly unlikely he’ll surpass the Buckeyes’ head coach. The other name who barely makes it to the top 20 is Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney, with a win rate of 78.9%.

How will it play out for Ryan Day? Let’s take you through it. The Buckeyes will face Grambling State in their Week 2 matchup. Followed by Ohio in Week 3, Washington in Week 5 (after their bye week), and Minnesota in Week 6. The No. 1-ranked team will go in each of these matchups as heavy favorites. The task is simple for Ohio State. Win four games, take their record to 5-0, and help their head coach climb to the top of the mountain.

Ryan Day will increase his record to 75-10, giving him a win rate of 88.23% and a shot at history. The highest head coach win percentage in FBS history. Of course, the team will have to continue its run for him to stay at the top. However, there is little doubt that the defending champions will slow their momentum this season or in years to come.

If some rival fans (most likely someone from Michigan Twitter) argue that other HCs on the list have coached for at least a decade, Ryan Day’s record in his first 80 games surpasses even some of the legends of the game. For instance, Nick Saban, who coached at Toledo, Michigan State, and LSU in his first 80 games, had a record of 65-14-1.

Even legends like Woody Hayes (57-19-3 through 80 games) and Jim Tressel (66-14) didn’t start this hot. Even Urban Meyer was 69-11 in the same stretch. Some fans will mention Kirby Smart’s record in his first 80 games. Tell them this: he was 69-11. And at Ohio State, Ryan Day hasn’t just registered wins. The whole resume is ridiculous.

Back-to-back Big Ten Championships in 2019 and 2020, a Sugar Bowl win in 2020, a Rose Bowl in 2021, and finally, that crown jewel—Ohio State’s first national title since 2014, delivered in 2024. The playoff run was one for the ages: Day’s Buckeyes didn’t just win; they bulldozed. Tennessee, Oregon, Texas, Notre Dame—gone. Across four games, the Buckeyes outscored top-tier opponents 145–75, sending a message that Day’s squad wasn’t here to participate; they were here to dominate.

Before someone spams “he plays against cupcakes” or “he stat-pads 8–10 games against nobodies,” look at his run. Day’s track record against ranked teams proves Ohio State has been punching heavyweights. He’s 25–9 against Top-25 squads and 16–8 against Top-10 opponents.

Even the hardware shelf is flexing. In just 6 seasons, Day racked up Big Ten Coach of the Year honors and kept the program stocked with All-Americans, 5 Heisman finalists, and double-digit first-round draft picks. Off the field? He’s got the program setting records in the classroom, too, with the highest Academic Progress Rate in school history.

Ohio State’s football team just hit a school-best graduation rate of 94% in 2023—yeah, that’s their highest ever! And over the past four years, they’ve been rocking a solid 93% average. Not too shabby, right? Plus, for the fall semester of 2024, the whole squad pulled off a team GPA of 3.3. That balance—wins on Saturday, stability Monday through Friday—has the Buckeyes faithful believing he’s building something more than just a run.

The university noticed. Back in February 2025, Ohio State locked him down with a contract extension through 2031, tossing him a cool $12.5 million a year—the second-highest paycheck in the game. Translation: they know they’ve got their golden ticket.

The Chase for Immortality

The wild part: it isn’t just about winning games. It’s about rewriting what “success” even means for a modern head coach. Ryan Day’s about to set the highest win percentage ever seen, but the kicker is, he’s doing it while weathering insane pressure. At Ohio State, anything short of natty feels like failure. “It’s an honor to be the head coach at Ohio State. I’d probably say that this job is not for everybody.” Ryan Day preached after winning the national championship.

Top college football analysts have Ryan Day sitting right near the top of the coaching food chain. Chip Patterson straight-up says Day is “a top‑two coach in all of college football,” and Tom Fornelli from CBS ranks him No. 2, only behind Kirby Smart, saying, “If you have him outside of your top five, I’d question your sanity.” Ari Wasserman from On3 agrees, also putting Day at No. 2 and pointing to his 2024 championship run as proof he can win the biggest games. Jesse Simonton has him at No. 4 and praises how Day’s handled the program, especially with big hires and top-tier roster moves.

The numbers don’t lie. An 87.5% win rate, a national title in hand, and consistent dominance over multiple seasons speak for themselves. Love him or hate him, Ryan Day is carving his name into the history books—and the legends’ circle is waiting.