It all came spilling out in a players-only meeting on the Tuesday after Ohio State's devastating loss to Michigan in the final weekend of the regular season. The Buckeyes, a 21-point home favorite over the Wolverines, imploded in a loss that gave critics even more ammunition to aim at embattled head coach Ryan Day.

Ohio State is hours away from meeting Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff championship game, capping a season that just in the past eight weeks has seesawed between the depths of another loss to Michigan and the potential high of claiming the program first championship since the debut of the four-team format a decade ago.

A fter Ohio State suffered its fourth consecutive loss to Michigan, the Buckeyes faced a crossroads. In a team meeting led by head coach Ryan Day, the players and staff laid every

Ohio State has a 6-2 series lead against Notre Dame dating back to 1935, but the Buckeyes are on a six-game win streak against the Fighting Irish. Two of those came in a home-and-