Ohio State may have won a national title this past season, but there is much more to the story than running the table to be crowned champions by the end of the season.

During a recent episode of “The Triple Option” podcast, Buckeyes coach Ryan Day revealed the unique differences between the single-elimination pressure of the College Football Playoff vs. a bowl game invite regarding recreational activities.

“First off, the [bowl game] experience is something we really got to learn from,” Day said, per On3. “You know, I think that the player experience can be much better. I think that the focus needs to be on the players, and I think we need to look at a lot of it. Because, you know, the National Championship is not run by a bowl. The other ones are but, even the ones that are run by a bowl, as you guys remember, there used to be events. There was a lot that came with that. Now that’s no longer the case.” 

Events Day references could be anything from local events with youth, as was the case at the Citrus Bowl this past December between Illinois and South Carolina, where each activity was pre-arranged. Some had media access, while others didn’t. 

Day said not having those team bonding experiences outside of a football-heavy, team hotel environment makes the experiences (outside of the games themselves) less memorable when reflecting years later.

“It’s just like being on a road game, except you’re there a day earlier, but there’s no events like nobody going on any events, nobody’s leaving the hotel,” Day said. “I think that, you know, we need to consider moving the hotels outside of these big cities, because we’re not going to these events anymore. So I think being a little bit more secluded and looking at some of those locations is just better for everybody, especially for the players. We need to pour it into the players.”

Day said at the end of the day some players are going to experience postseason play once. At the very least, it should be a trip, in Day’s words, “money can’t buy.”

Whether those small changes come to fruition remain unclear, but at least Day recognizes it’s as much of a trip for the players as it is for the coaching staff, families, personnel and everyone else involved in making the event possible.