Ohio State’s one-point loss at Texas did more than knock the Buckeyes off the top spot in the polls. It put a spotlight on the exact issue Ryan Day has been hammering since the offseason: closing out games when the pressure spikes in the fourth quarter.
The Buckeyes blew a 20-point cushion and were shut out 21-0 in the final period of a 24-23 defeat. With a tougher stretch still ahead, that loss now sits at a crossroads - either a blunt early-season warning or a useful lesson for a team trying to stay on track for a College Football Playoff run.
“This year’s team is going to have potentially three or four games like this that they’re going to have to be better in the fourth quarter,” ESPN college football senior writer Adam Rittenberg said. “That can definitely be a teaching point, a place to learn and [to] do things differently.”
Ohio State’s 2025 regular season ended without a loss, but the Buckeyes never dealt with a second-half deficit until the Big Ten championship game, where they fell 13-10 to Indiana. They then lost to Miami 24-14 in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal.
This fall presents a different kind of schedule test. After last weekend’s matchup with then-No. 4 Texas, Ohio State still has five teams in the current AP top 25 left on the slate.
“I think Ohio State, in hindsight, was hurt by a schedule last year that didn’t challenge itself enough,” Rittenberg said. “This year [Ohio State] could really benefit from a schedule that, at least as we sit here now, looks like there’s going to be a lot of challenges.”
The timing of the loss also matters. Albert Breer, Sports Illustrated NFL senior writer and an Ohio State graduate, said an early setback gives the Buckeyes at least some room to adjust personnel or scheme before the schedule tightens again. Ohio State does not face another ranked opponent until Oct. 3 against Iowa at Kinnick Stadium.
“You have a little flexibility, not much, but a little flexibility here to maybe tinker with some things that you wouldn’t have tinkered with otherwise,” Breer said.
Breer pointed to Ohio State’s title season two years ago as a reminder that a team can absorb losses and still finish at the top. In that 12-team College Football Playoff format’s first season, the Buckeyes ended up winning the national championship in Atlanta despite two regular-season defeats.
He said that comeback path was helped by the kind of veteran leadership that can steady a team when things go sideways.
“That was a veteran team and they had guys who’d been around for four years in the locker room,” Breer said. “So I think, now, the question becomes ‘Who are those guys are going to be for [Ohio State]?’”
Ohio State listed quarterback Julian Sayin, offensive lineman Austin Siereveld, linebacker Payton Pierce, defensive end Kenyatta Jackson Jr., safety Jaylen McClain and wide receivers Brandon Inniss and Jeremiah Smith as captains before the 2026 season. That marked just the seventh time in program history the Buckeyes named seven or more captains.
With the Texas loss fresh, that leadership group - along with the other voices in the locker room - has become even more important.
“When you have that many captains, that’s why you do that,” Rittenberg said. “It’s not some participation award or just to make people happy, you do that for times like this.”
Since the College Football Playoff began in 2014, only two teams have taken a September loss and still gone on to win the national title: Ohio State in 2014 and Alabama in 2015.
Now the 2026 Buckeyes, who dropped their first road game of the season by a single point, are trying to become the third.
“We have everything we need here and we just need to put it all together in a way that we can go make a championship run,” Day said on Tuesday.
In Other News...
Ohio State Has A Ryan Day Problem Fans Cant Ignore
Ohio States recent habit of watching comfortable fourth-quarter leads shrink has turned into more than a bad stretch. The Buckeyes have had the kind of defensive fatigue and late-game confusion that can undo otherwise solid afternoons, and the issue has shown up in consecutive games enough to raise real questions about how the team closes.
Ryan Days program has been especially vulnerable when opponents keep pushing the pace and the defense is forced to hold up under pressure. The loss to Texas only sharpened the concern, since the Longhorns have brought a steadier offensive identity over multiple seasons while Ohio State has struggled to adjust and protect leads when games turn critical. [Read more 🡒]
Ryan Day Just Put Ohio State's Punt Decisions On Notice
Ohio States special teams already had a spotlight on them after the loss to Texas, and Ryan Day only sharpened it when he revisited the punt decision from Texas 39-yard line. The Buckeyes chose to kick on 4th-and-4, and the result was a 26-yard net that left plenty of room for second-guessing. Day still defended the call, while also pointing to punter Joe McGuires talent and framing the issue as more about execution than philosophy.
Robby Discher was brought in this offseason as special teams coordinator with the expectation that this phase would get cleaner, and Days comments suggested the Buckeyes are watching closely to see whether that happens. If the operation stays inconsistent, the comfort level on similar fourth-down decisions may start to change, especially in the kinds of high-leverage spots that can swing a top-end game. The message was clear enough: the punts are not automatic if the returns keep coming up short. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State May Have Found A Young Defensive Difference Maker
Riley Pettijohns role in Ohio States loss to Texas was one of the quieter bright spots for a defense that spent much of the night under pressure. The young linebacker logged a career-high 37 snaps while moving around to multiple spots, and he flashed enough disruption to stand out even in a tough result. He also fit in with a broader theme from the game, as other young Buckeyes like Jay Timmons and Khary Wilder showed they may be ready for bigger chances too.
Ryan Day has already signaled that Pettijohns workload should keep growing, and it is easy to see why the staff is intrigued. The linebacker has shown a knack for slipping blocks and finding the football, the kind of trait that can change how a defense feels from one week to the next. Ohio State still has to sort out the bigger picture after the loss, but Pettijohns emergence gives the Buckeyes something real to build on. [Read more 🡒]