ATLANTA — Fifty-one days ago, when the victorious (again) Michigan Wolverines planted a flag in the center of Ohio Stadium, Ryan Day stood frozen in place. Tears, jeers, and calls for work surrounded him. The players fought. Pepper spray hung in the air.

It felt like a stroke at the time.

Now a national champion.

In one of the great reversals of college football's fortunes, Ohio State shook off a horrific loss to its archrival, took advantage of the second chance afforded by the sport's newly expanded postseason and challenged itself to become better in every aspect good.

It all started with a Buckeyes head coach who, despite being terrible at coaching at the time, has been just as good since, winning it all in the playoffs.

The Buckeyes defeated a never-quit Notre Dame team 34-23 on Monday. This time, Buckeye flags were flying and Buckeye fans (some of whom had roasted Day seven weeks earlier) roared. The cries now are of joy, not confusion and disappointment.

It's the latest example of Ohio State's postseason run -- tough, talented and, if focused correctly, nearly unbeatable. It has the best roster in the country, and it showed that Day can shake off the Michigan loss and get out of his way.

"We're not broken," Day said. "That's not what happened. We had a bad day. I don't know how else to describe it. We had a bad day and we just said we'd never do it again.

"I think it's the head coach's job to take responsibility when things get that bad, but on days like this, make sure everyone understands that it's the Warriors and the guys on the field who deserve all the credit, not the team." Coach," Day continued. "Coach sometimes gets too much attention. "

Kudos to Notre Dame for the back-and-forth and constant delays that kept this thing tight until the very end. Then give the Buckeyes credit for not bowing to that pressure.

What happened (and continues to happen) against Michigan State can be discussed at another time -- next November in Ann Arbor, of course.

That loss didn't cost him the season that day, even though that was a victory for the coach in itself. He had a terrible performance against Michigan in November - trying to be the tougher team during the game, only to be paralyzed by the carnage that followed after the game.

But give him credit: From rock bottom, he found his footing. There's a motto they like to use in Columbus: "Ohio State vs. Everybody." In this case -- if you listen to the radio station or social media -- it's Ohio State versus its own coach. But in a way, it just solidified things.

"We had some honest conversations, man," running back Tre'Vion Henderson said. “The most important thing is that we come together as a team.”

"This is really a test of our brotherhood," defensive end JT Tuimoloau said.

"The Ohio State vs. the World slogan, that's what we try to embody," quarterback Will Howard said.

The world has no chance. Ohio State knocked on the door of Tennessee and Oregon State, won a battle with Texas, then stomped on Notre Dame here. Where talk shows were once filled with complaints and the stands at Ohio Stadium were filled with Orange Volunteers, there was only one party left.

The story goes to the winner.

"He shouldn't have to go through these things (criticism), especially from his family," Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork said of the harshest comments. "It's one thing to criticize the play-calling, but it's not necessary to criticize the personal stuff. What I hope people really take away from this is that we have the best coach in the country."

For Day, it was a form of vindication. Maybe not completely, but certainly more than anyone could ask for. He rose from a minor college quarterback to Urban Meyer's successor thanks to his creative play-calling and relentless recruiting.

At 39 years old, he took over the reins at Ohio State with a program that had momentum but still had a lot to learn on the job. The class continues, but the title ring on his finger — Ohio State's first since 2014 — answers a lot of questions. As a head coach, he now has a record of 70 wins and 10 losses.

That's his plan now; his national championship plan.

Monday night's Buckeyes were a free and confident Buckeyes team focused on doing what they do best rather than getting sucked into the rock battle that the in-game but less skilled Irish wanted.

The Irish scored 18 touchdowns in the first 9 minutes and 45 seconds, more than they could have ever dreamed of, but Ohio State just shrugged and responded with 11 touchdowns of its own. Then the Buckeyes scored again and again.

The array of weapons was stunning - Jeremiah Smith, Emeka Egbuka (who became the school's all-time leader in receptions), Henderson ) and the running back duo of Quinshon Judkins, among others.

Howard backed off and distributed the clock, leaving Notre Dame with little hope... while the Buckeye defense, which has been solid all season, lived up to expectations.

The Irish kept pushing and things got interesting in the fourth quarter, with a touchdown and a two-point conversion tying the game to one. But in the end, Ohio State held on strong, sealing the victory with a short field goal after a catch by freshman star Jeremiah Smith.

This is the product of a Buckeyes roster filled with veteran returning talent. Small change -- reportedly around $20 million -- certainly plays a role, but you're not going to get that many people to pass up the NFL draft and chase a national championship unless you build a strong culture. You don’t let people put off their professional dreams unless they believe in their coach.

This speaks to something far beyond play calling or game planning.

In the end, it was enough to weather the November storm.

"When you signed up for this job, this is what you signed up for," Day said. “You have to be strong enough to weather these storms and come out of it.

"It's a better story now."