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Lou Holtz Still Hasn't Learned to Take an L

Originally posted on Mike Farrell Sports
By Mike Farrell | Last updated 9/27/23

I had the chance to work with Lou Holtz at ESPN way back in the day. He was a nice enough man and obviously knowledgeable about football, much more so than me. But Lou Holtz never learned to take the “L,” and he still hasn’t.

Holtz called out Ryan Day and his Ohio State team before their game against Notre Dame, citing a lack of physicality that has led to some of his biggest losses to Georgia, Clemson, and especially Michigan. He insinuated that that same lack of physicality would lead to a loss to Notre Dame.

And I see nothing wrong with that. It’s his job as a football analyst to provide such takes. Ohio State played a very physical game (as did Notre Dame) and came out with a hard-fought win. Ryan Day clearly took exception to the Holtz smack talk and cited it after the game.

And that should have been the end of it. Or, at the very least, Holtz should have just owned the loss and provided simple praise for Day and the Buckeyes. But he just couldn’t.

Holtz responded to Day’s post-game tirade with this — program.

"That's his choice. I can understand why he did," Holtz said on the Don't @ Me with Dan Dakich podcast. "He doesn't want to talk about Michigan (because he's) 0-2. He doesn't want to talk about the big game coming up against Penn State and against Michigan again. He's a great coach. He's done a great job. He's a great offensive mind. He hired an outstanding defensive coordinator from Oklahoma State (Jim Knowles), who is doing a tremendous job for him. Ohio State is a good football team. I don't think they are a great football team. He can go after me all he wants."

For the love of Christ, man. This is like some moronic Notre Dame fan on social media saying, “yeah, you beat us, but you won’t beat so and so.” Who gives a crap? You got beat. Ohio State played a solid game and a physical football game. And Day stuffed your words back into your mouth. I don’t know Holtz personally. Like I said, my weekly interactions with him on the Coaches Corner Show almost 20 years ago were limited. But I had been given the impression that Lou Holtz was never wrong and would never admit to being wrong before I met him and came away with that same impression. And now it’s still happening.

You’re a Notre Dame schill Lou. And you’re also bitter that you never got the Ohio State job you wanted 100 years ago. And your team got beaten, and an argument could be made that Day’s team was more physical. At the very least, Day out coaches Marcus Freeman badly. So your false praise of Day while referencing Penn State and Michigan is childish and dumb. Lou Holtz will never take a loss until the day he dies, and it’s sad to see a once-great coach continue to be a defensive crybaby.

This article first appeared on Mike Farrell Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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