Credit: Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports
Ohio State coach Ryan Day said Wednesday that going 11-2 and winning the Rose Bowl game might mark success at other schools, but not in Columbus, Ohio.
Day made the comments during Big Ten Media Days in Indianapolis.
Anything short of a Big Ten title and another national championship is disappointment at Ohio State. Losing to Michigan for the first time since 2011 is another dagger.
“That’s part of the deal here. A lot of times you go 11-2 and win the Rose Bowl, you say that’s one heck of a season. Well, not around here,” Day said. “Our goal every year is to beat the Team Up North and win the Big Ten championship and win the national championship, and we didn’t get those things last year.”
Day guided the Buckeyes to the CFP national championship game following the 2020 season but got devoured by Alabama, 52-24.
Ohio State last won the national title in 2014, under Urban Meyer.
The Buckeyes’ main problem last season: youth and defense.
OSU finished 2021 ranked No. 59 nationally in total defense. That led to the hire of defensive coordinator Jim Knowles from Oklahoma State in the offseason. The calendar — players becoming older and wiser — took care of itself.
“Last year, we were so young that we didn’t know what we didn’t know,” Day said. “This year, we know what it’s like to lose a game. We know what it’s like to lose that rivalry game. And that was not good. And so there are some scars there, which is a good thing.”
Further, the Buckeyes don’t open their season with a cupcake – they play Notre Dame on Sept. 3.
“It amplifies the preseason, for sure,” Day said. “You know you have to play your best football right then and there. You can’t take a game or two to find your footing, so that game is going to be amped up. It’s going to be kind of a frenzy, and we know that, so preseason is going to be very important.”
–Field Level Media