Mailbox: Readers still reacting to Ryan Day, Lou Holtz and 'Ohio against the world'

Have more comments, questions? Reach out to me at bwhite1@dispatch.com. Letters are lightly edited for clarity.

On Ohio State football

To the sports editor: The Sports section headline of Oct. 5 was, “Day mum on Holtz, delights in beating ND twice in a row.” OK, fine, but a bit of context is in order. OSU has about 50,000 undergrads and for ND that number is 8,900. The average ACT at OSU is 30 while at ND it’s 34. If you are an elite high school athlete, you might not want to be surrounded by the kids who were the smartest in their schools and then spend four years in South Bend, Indiana, where there is bad weather and very little happening (especially when compared to Columbus’ vitality).

Considering the above, Ryan Day should not feel that delighted, especially for winning by three points when OSU was favored by three points. But if he feels that those were big wins, then I guess as an ND fan, I’ll take that as a compliment.Kevin W. Brown, Columbus

To Kevin: I don't think having more students on campus and lower comparative test scores means you should automatically beat smaller schools in football. If so, Notre Dame has built a rich history in some mysterious, magical, against-all-odds way, and Ohio State should never be permitted to celebrate. And as a Notre Dame fan, it is indeed a compliment when a school treats you as a big game.

Hey Brian: Next time Day asks where Holtz is, tell him he’s in the College Football Hall of Fame, a place Day will never be, unless he’s there for a visit.

Mark G

To Mark: My guess is that at that late hour, Holtz was in bed.

To the editor: Let me start out by saying that I am a lifelong resident of Columbus. However, I am no longer a Buckeye fan. I find it laughable, and hypocritical, for Urban Meyer to criticize Michigan’s, Georgia’s or anyone else’s schedule as being too easy. I don’t remember Urban crying over how easy the OSU schedule was when he was the head coach.

Until recently, the Big 10 was a one-school race almost every season. It’s good for football to have Michigan back to being a power, as more competition makes the league stronger. The lack of Big Ten competition for so long made many OSU fans arrogant and entitled. They seemed to think they should just waltz into the playoffs based on their name and record in a weak conference.

To coach Day: “Ohio against the world” is nothing new or innovative. It’s a trite, overused phrase. I admire your passion for the team and their win against Notre Dame, but your use of that phrase feeds into the unflattering opinion of Buckeye fans outside the state lines.

Anne Trout, Columbus

To Anne: I, too, don't get the "Ohio against the world" thing. I've traveled to quite a few countries and never was beaten up or confronted because I'm from Ohio. In fact, most people I ran into hadn't even heard of Ohio. I think the only place "Ohio against the world" works is the Little League World Series, but this year's New Albany trip was the first for a team from this state since 2010, so there's not a big sample size. Maybe Day is still upset about our local boys not winning it all this year.

To the editor: Watching the end of the OSU-Notre Dame game once again gave me thought about conversion attempts at the end of a game where a team is up by two points. I wonder why coaches do not consider just taking a knee on the conversion attempt to avoid the defensive team being able to run back a blocked kick or recovered fumble for the now-game-tying two points. That would result in overtime. I am assuming of course that there is not enough time for the defensive team to get into field goal range. One second is not enough time.

Thomas W. Billing, Springfield

To Thomas: Day was asked about that this week and said, "If there was an untimed down, I was going to take a knee. But with one second left, I felt like you want to kick the extra point. Who knows what could possibly happen? You just never know. I felt like it was the right thing to do with time on the clock. I guess you could come up with a crazy scenario where there was a kickoff ... I felt like at that point if we can't kick the extra point we don't deserve to win. ... I'm sure there can be an argument either way." The problem is that the very thing happened last year against Maryland when the Terps blocked a PAT and returned it for two points to cut the OSU lead to 33-23. So a repeat would have been a real deflating moment for the Buckeyes

To the editor: While the OSU athletic department is self-funded through alumni donations, etc., and the choice of where to broadcast games is their decision alone, Ohio taxpayers, the alumni and the multitude of fans all deserve to watch our state university sports event without being subject to pay-per-view broadcasts. I personally expect more than this from Gene Smith.

Nicholas Russell, Columbus

To Nicholas: The choice to put the Purdue game on Peacock was not Ohio State's alone, but part of the Big Ten's TV contract with NBC.

On Major League Baseball

To Brian: Elly De La Cruz made a big splash when he came up. But once pitchers adjusted to him, he was unable to adjust and struggled mightily. His flashy baserunning, when successful, made for exciting highlights, but the numerous times he was just plain reckless were counterproductive. It would also be generous to call his play at shortstop even mediocre at times. With his speed and arm, he belongs in the outfield with Matt McClain at shortstop and Jonathan India remaining at second instead of being traded. Hopefully, his talents can be successfully harnessed and he can realize his potential as he matures.

Dennis Singleton, Dayton

More from the Mailbox:

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Fire Ryan Day! No, extend his contract! And is his beard the problem?

Ohio State football fans need to lighten up and appreciate Ryan Day

If Quinn Ewers stayed at Ohio State, would things be better at QB for Buckeyes?

Does Ohio State football need to hire a search party to find a quarterback?

Jeers for having to watch Ohio State football on Peacock; and more on Rapinoe

Great Aaron Owens tribute; Joe Roberts' Ohio State Hall of Fame delay a 'disgrace'

What's wrong with keeping the Ohio State-Michigan football game at season's end?

Want Ohio State football to beat Michigan? Add Urban Meyer, Jim Tressel to staff

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Mailbox: Readers still hot about Ohio State, Ryan Day and Lou Holtz