Ryan Day had a point to make, and he didn’t wait long to make it.

During the postgame interview on the field with NBC after his team rallied to beat Notre Dame 17-14 in South Bend, the Ohio State coach called out Lou Holtz for his comments about the Buckeyes.

“Toughness,” Day said when asked about his quarterback Kyle McCord. “Toughness. That’s it. Physicality across the board. Finish it off. Having guts.”

That’s when Day took a shot at Holtz.

“I’d like to know where Lou Holtz is right now,” he screamed. “What he said about our team, I cannot believe. This is a tough team right here. We’re proud to be from Ohio. It’s always been Ohio against the world. It will continue to be Ohio against the world.

Holtz gave Pat McAfee his thoughts on the matchup earlier this week.

“Notre Dame wins by 10. I believe that in my heart. … Notre Dame is a better football team than Ohio State,” Holtz said on The Pat McAfee Show. “And let me tell you why. We have the best offensive line in the country. Sam Hartman won’t even get his jersey dirty all year. He has time to throw the football. … We have great running backs. This team is averaging about 10 yards per carry. We have great receivers, so offensively, we’re set. Defensively, our defensive line’s better.

“You look at coach (Ryan) Day — and I coached at Ohio State under Woody Hayes. We won the national championship when I was there. I’m proud of that. However, (Day) has lost to Alabama, Georgia, Clemson and Michigan twice. And everybody that beats him does so because they are more physical than Ohio State. And I think Notre Dame will take that same approach.”

Day wasn’t having it.

“Everybody’s questioned these kids all the time,” Day continued. “We had one bad half the last couple of years. That’s it. Everybody wants to question these guys. These guys are warriors for coming back to win. … I’m emotional about this for a reason. A lot of people question these kids and say a lot of things about them. I love them. When someone attacks your family to come in and win like this, it’s special. A great win for our program. A great for Ohio State.”

Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. He can be heard on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5 FM in Mobile or on the free Sound of Mobile App from 6 to 9 a.m. daily.