Mob of overreaction has finally reached Ohio State and Michigan - USA Today

Now we’ve gone and done it. Stupid has officially reached the unreachable. 

Maybe you saw it on one of the many get-dumb-quicker social media feeds, or heard some television bobblehead scream it. Or maybe a squeaky wheel was so loud, it was impossible to ignore.

Ryan Day is 6-5 in his past 11 games as coach at Ohio State, and now it’s time to fire him. 

Kyle Whittingham walked into an absolute mess at Michigan, a cauldron of intentional mistakes and misdeeds that took the shining university on the hill and turned it into an NCAA rogue actor. Got one coach fired, got another coach a 10-year show cause order, and forced the president and athletic director to “step down.”

Michigan has lost four of nine games under Whittingham, and now he’s an old man and the game has passed him by and he doesn’t care about Michigan’s unique traditions — and he has to go. 

You know who cared about Michigan’s unique traditions? The coach — and former star Michigan player — who brought the NCAA to town not once, but twice, on the way to a national title and national disgrace.

You know who else cared about Michigan’s unique traditions? The coach who — in my best Ted Baxter voice — allegedly was texting Only Fans models at halftime during games. To say nothing of the completely separate power/subordinate/stalking thing with a university employee. 

And this is where the mob is headed? 

Trying to run a coach with a career .854 winning percentage at Ohio State, who all of two years ago won a national title — and who has never brought the program a sniff of negative publicity. 

Trying to run a coach who walked into a program at its lowest of low ever — ever — and then giving him all of 11 months to get his people, his players, in place and figure it out. 

If the Stupid Patrol can reach Ohio State and Michigan, everyone, it can and will reach anything at any time. The Stupid Patrol doesn’t care about facts, it cares about feelings. 

I’m mad, and you’re going to hear me. It’s not just the lunatics on the fringe, it’s deep-pocket boosters and politicians, too. 

What these brilliant minds with their imaginary pitchforks don’t understand is the depth and breadth of sustaining a Top-5 program in college football, or in Michigan’s current case, scraping one off the floor.

Here’s what they also don’t understand: the rush to make college football the NFL’s dysfunctional cousin has led to the one thing that kills NFL seasons — and is eventually and NFL coach killer. 

A lack of depth at the most important position on the field.

When the starting quarterback goes down with a season-ending injury in the NFL, your season is over. It’s rare that any of the 32 teams has a backup who can step in, and the machine keeps rolling. 

So welcome to your new world, college football. Ohio State couldn’t simply insert Lincoln Kienholz, and away we go. Or Cardale Jones or Kyle McCord or Julian Sayin.  

Yeah, Sayin was Will Howard’s backup in the 2024 national championship season. Now it’s Luke Fahey, a former three-star recruit who’s predictably struggling and the Buckeyes are predictably losing. 

Then there’s Michigan, who overpaid for a 5-star quarterback recruit — and then watched former coach Sherrone Moore refuse to give him a position specific coach. That’s right, Michigan didn’t have a quarterbacks coach for Bryce Underwood or any other quarterback on the roster. 

So Whittingham and offensive coordinator Jason Beck arrive, and they couldn’t bring Utah star quarterback Devon Dampier with them — Beck and Dampier also left New Mexico for Utah, and had the No .2 offense in the nation in 2025 — because Michigan had a $12 million project on its hands. And when the complete rebuild of Underwood hit an expected rough patch (because they all do ), Michigan was left with a true freshman. 

A former three-star recruit thrown into one of the toughest schedules in the nation. Where have we heard that before? 

The only difference between Ohio State and Michigan is Day has capital, and doesn’t have to make reactionary moves. Whittingham does not, so he had to fire Beck earlier this week. 

Now the Stupid Patrol has officially reached the unreachable. 

This is what happens when you run head first into the NFL model, without care or comprehension of what’s waiting on the other side. College football has created multiple team owners, depending on how many sugar daddies each program needs to sustain financial wherewithal.

Those sugar daddies want a return on their investment, and you better believe they listen to — and in some case, feed off — the Stupid Patrol. The next thing you know, there’s a graphic on an ESPN show that has Day’s record in the past 11 games with the caption, “Is Ryan Day in trouble?”

Or the guy that — allegedly — gave a million or so to land Underwood, can’t stand it anymore. So Dave Portnoy goes on his "Wake Up Barstool" show and says Whittingham, “Is asleep at the wheel. It’s like he’s sedated on the sidelines.”

Portnoy gave the money, he’s allowed to give the criticism. No one is unreachable or immune from crazy anymore. 

Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB. Listen to him daily, from 12-2 p.m., on 1010XL-Jacksonville.