The head football coach at The Ohio State University is probably the second most criticized person in America after the President. While the expectations are super high, we try to be fair to Ryan Day and the job that he does. While there is still another half-season to go, how has he done so far in 2026?
Ohio State is 6-1 overall and 4-0 in Big Ten play. They've started 6-1 or better every year under Ryan Day, and they've won their first four Big Ten games every year except for 2024. The Buckeyes began this season as the number one ranked team in the AP Poll, and they are now ranked third at the bye week. They are the highest-ranked team in college football that has a loss to its name. The Buckeyes have two top 15 road wins, and their only loss was also on the road against a ranked Texas team by one point.
It is impossible to ignore what has happened to Ohio State and Texas since the Buckeyes took a 20-3 lead into the fourth quarter in Austin on September 12. The offense completely shut down, while the defense couldn't stop anything Texas tried to do.
After some disastrous clock management at the end of that game, Texas scored to take a 24-23 lead, and the Buckeyes didn't have time to respond. Since then, Texas has gone on to lose two games against unranked teams, and now Arch Manning is one bad week away from being benched.
We knew it was a bad loss in the moment because of the nature of the collapse, but now that game is in danger of being a bad loss in the eyes of the College Football Playoff committee if the Longhorns' season keeps going in this direction.
Ohio State has played two big road games since then. They went to Iowa and largely dominated a good Hawkeyes team on October 3rd, and showed the ability to finish in that game in a way that they did not against Texas.
Two weeks later, they went to Bloomington for one of their biggest non-Michigan regular-season games in recent memory. What unfolded was kind of the opposite of how many close games have gone under Ryan Day. Ohio State didn't play its best game.
They had some things go against them. Some would argue they weren't the best team on the field, but they found a way to win the football game. For once, it was the other team missing field goals and making mistakes.
While the win in Bloomington was Ohio State's biggest regular-season win since at least 2024 Penn State, some very bad news came out of that game, and Day now faces his biggest challenge as head coach of the Buckeyes. Julian Sayin came down with what appeared to be a shoulder injury, and while Day wouldn't outright say it, he appears to be out for the season.
Ryan Day's season will be defined after the bye week
When the Buckeyes travel to Los Angeles after this bye week, it'll be just the second time an Ohio State quarterback has missed a game due to injury. The other one was when they decided to let C.J. Stroud rest his sore shoulder against Akron in 2021.
Ryan Day has a quarterback background and a highly qualified and experienced offensive coordinator in Arthur Smith. Getting Luke Fahey ready to play against USC and beyond will be a challenge, but not one that they can't overcome. Day can also recall his experience in 2024.
Many people thought their national title hopes were gone after losing Josh Simmons and Seth McLaughlin to injury. After a disastrous performance by the offensive line in their loss to Michigan, Day and the staff were able to put together a plan to get those guys to perform and contribute to a team that went on to win the national championship.
If I had to give Ryan Day a grade for 2026 so far, I'd probably go with a B-. Feels unfair to go any lower than that, but the loss to Texas really stings to this day. We'll revisit this at the end of the season. The team's performance with Luke Fahey and whether or not they can accomplish their three program goals will determine the final grade.
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