![Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer and offensive coordinator Ryan Day yell from the sideline during the second quarter of the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. on Jan. 1, 2019. [Adam Cairns/Dispatch]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_3188,h_1793/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/151/01kfk32vmy5jzxt01ad9.jpg "Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer and offensive coordinator Ryan Day yell from the sideline during the second quarter of the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. on Jan. 1, 2019. [Adam Cairns/Dispatch]")
The Ohio State football program fell short of its goal of winning the national championship for the second year in a row. It would have been a crowning achievement for the program and for Ryan Day. Instead, they weren't quite able to get it done after they lost the last two games of the season.
Day wasn't able to get what he needed in order to win a consecutive national title. The Buckeyes lost a lot of talent from the 2024 national championship team. Not only did they lose a lot of talent, but most of that talent was older. That has become the new trend in college football.
Each of the last three years, the Big Ten team that has been the most mature has won the national title. Indiana was that way this year. Urban Meyer says that he has talked to Ryan Day about how the Ohio State Buckeyes will construct the roster moving forward, knowing this.
Former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer talks to Ryan Day about future roster construction
While speaking on the Triple Option Podcast, Meyer mentioned that he has talked to Day about this trend in college football and how that might dictate what the Buckeyes decide to do in the future.
"I actually talked to Coach Day about that. "Yesterday, we talked before the game, and he mentioned that. That everyone is now, and everyone is talking about it, how do we get a locker room full of grown-ass men that's been through it?"
That seems to indicate that the Buckeyes might be changing tactics with how they approach roster-building. Getting older players might help Ohio State reach its goals as it did in the 2024 season. Day did grab a lot of older players from the Transfer Portal this offseason, which indicates a shift in philosophy.
Day is going to try to build what he had with the 2024 team, which won't be easy. Adding a lot of experience on defense from the portal to replace the great players they lost is his strategy to get the Buckeyes back on top in 2026.