Every year, the Ohio State football team is expected to win all of its games. They are one of the few programs in college football that are expected to win every game on their schedule every single year. That pressure has been lifted a bit since the induction of the 12-team Playoff last season.
The Ohio State Buckeyes were able to lose two games in the regular season and still make the CFP. They went on to win the national championship, making Buckeye fans around the world happy. That doesn't mean that there still isn't any pressure surrounding this team.
Quarterback Julian Sayin understands that pressure as the leader of the Buckeyes. He knows what is expected of him and what's expected of Ryan Day. After practice on Wednesday night, he said the quiet part out loud about what is expected from the team, especially this year.
Julian Sayin talks about the Ohio State football team's crazy expectations
Sayin told the media that he knows bad days aren't allowed in Columbus.
“When you are at Ohio State, you have to bring your A game every day. You can’t have a bad day at Ohio State. That's what Coach Day always says, so you have to be on your game at all times, and everyone has to do their jobs. Every position knows that, and we are focused on that each and every week.”
With Sayin observing everything around the team from the bench last season, he is well aware of what is expected from him and his teammates. If they lose a game, especially to TTUN, fans start to lose their minds. Sayin is staying razor sharp so that doesn't happen again this season.
The Buckeyes likely won't be tested again until that final game, but Sayin isn't approaching things that way. He is preparing for Purdue as a team that can upset them, because that's exactly what happened back in 2018. No one in Columbus wants a repeat of that.
Day has done an excellent job of instilling this mentality with the entire team. No one is going into any game expecting to just roll over opponents.