The best way to appreciate Ryan Day is to compare him to Lincoln Riley (and maybe a little to Sark)

The Ohio State and USC coaches faced a similar choice after the 2023 season and made opposite decisions. Look what’s happened since.

USC head coach Lincoln Riley (left) and Ohio State head coach Ryan Day (right) at their game preview news conferences this week. (Photos courtesy of USC and Ohio State video screenshots.)

COLUMBUS — Lincoln Riley and Ryan Day had the same choice to make after the 2023 season. They chose differently. Those divergent decisions might be why one coach on the sideline Saturday night has a national title ring and the No. 2 team in the country, and the other has a hot seat and people wondering whether Baylor might be a better fit for him.

The choice was to hand over the offensive play-calling or not to hand over the offensive play-calling.

Day chose Chip Kelly, then Brian Hartline, then Arthur Smith.

Riley chose himself, himself and himself.

Day is 32-5 over those three seasons. Riley is 22-12.

Asked this summer at Big Ten Media Days about his decision to retain play-calling, Riley leaned on the obvious: he’s good at it.

“At the end of the day, my whole deal has been, ‘How can I bring value to a team and to a program. I haven’t been perfect at it, but my track record is also pretty darn good at it,” Riley said.

That’s not really the question when it comes to being in charge, though. It’s not about what you can do well. It’s about what you can do solely.