The Ohio State football program has been one of the most successful programs in the country under Ryan Day. He has won a ton of games and has a national championship to his name. In fact, Day is one of just four active head coaches who have won a national title.
Despite that being the case, Day has never won Coach of the Year. Other coaches nationally have taken that award from him. In fact, Day has never won Big Ten Coach of the Year outright. He shared it in 2019 with P.J. Fleck. He didn't even win the national Coach of the Year that season, nor the following season when the Buckeyes played for a national title.
The Dodd Trophy is given to the best coach in the country every season. Day was a finalist for the award last season, but ultimately lost out to Curt Cignetti for the award. Heading into the 2026 season, Day is on the preseason watchlist for the award again.
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day named to the Dodd Trophy preseason watchlist
Day is one of 20 coaches on the preseason watchlist. With so many expectations surrounding the Buckeyes, Day is going to feel some pressure. Ohio State is going to have a much tougher schedule than it did last season. That could actually strengthen Day's case to win this award.
If the Ohio State Buckeyes end up winning it all, it would probably be considered the greatest season in Ohio State football history if they go undefeated. That would mean they would have gone 16-0 with a win over Michigan, a Big Ten title, and a national championship.
Completing those three goals would almost certainly result in Day winning the Dodd Trophy at the end of the year. Of course, Ohio State has to figure out a way to beat Texas, Indiana, USC, Iowa, and TTUN. That is not going to be an easy task for the team to do.
Ohio State has a chance to embarrass other programs
The Buckeyes are projected to be one of the best teams in the Big Ten this season. Other than them, Oregon and Indiana are the two teams that have the best chance to win the conference. The Buckeyes have a chance to send a statement to all of them in Week 2.
That Week 2 matchup against Texas has a chance to send a message to the rest of the questions that the Buckeyes should be considered the best team in the country. Winning on the road at night in DKR would show that Ohio State might be the best team in the country.
Day feels good about the roster he has heading into this season. He'll feel better about it in the Fall when the team nails down the starting lineup. Once practice begins, he will really start to find out what he has in the year's team. Getting the offensive line settled, along with the receiver position, will further determine the ceiling on this team.
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