Big Ten Media Days didn’t hand out any hardware, but it did make one thing clear: Ohio State is still the team everyone else in the league is measuring itself against.
That’s not a new role for the Buckeyes, and they didn’t sound surprised by it. Coming off a College Football Playoff berth, Ohio State showed up with the kind of confidence that comes from living in the national spotlight.
But the talk wasn’t about resting on that success. It was about keeping it going, replacing important pieces, and handling the burden that comes with being the program everyone circles on the calendar.
That’s the exact place Ryan Day wants his team to live.
Indiana coach Curt Cignetti called Ohio State a “Goliath,” and that word fit the mood around the event. The Buckeyes aren’t being judged on whether they can reach the playoff.
They’re being judged on whether they can finish the climb in January. That was the real undercurrent in Las Vegas.
There was also a sharp contrast between the Big Ten’s tone and what came out of SEC Media Days a few days earlier. The Big Ten’s message centered on staying ahead.
The SEC’s conversation leaned more toward explaining why the league hasn’t been the one lifting the national championship trophy. After years of hearing the SEC described as college football’s clear king, the shift toward complaints about scheduling and perceived disadvantages stood out.
From Ohio State’s point of view, the answer is pretty straightforward. Championship teams don’t spend much time asking for sympathy.
The Buckeyes didn’t do that while dealing with one of the country’s toughest schedules or carrying the pressure that comes with defending a title. They prepared, played, and won.
That’s part of why the SEC’s recent talking points have drawn more eye rolls than agreement. It’s hard to spend years insisting you’re the sport’s top conference and then pivot to explaining why someone else is winning the biggest games. When Paul Finebaum, the noted “Mouth Of The South”, says the SEC sounds like they are making excuses, that says plenty.
Cignetti put it bluntly when he said his conference doesn’t “cry a river and whine” after losses. It was a sharp line, but it matched the confidence spreading through the Big Ten.
The league no longer sounds like it’s trying to catch the SEC. Based on recent results, it believes the SEC is the one doing the chasing now.
For Ohio State, the questions entering the season are familiar, but they’re not about whether the talent is there. The real issue is how smoothly the Buckeyes can reload after another wave of stars moved on to the NFL. That’s a task the program has handled before, thanks to elite recruiting, strong development, and a roster that usually runs deeper than most of the country.
The offense still looks loaded, with Jeremiah Smith standing out as the kind of superstar wide receiver who can flip a game in a snap. On the other side of the ball, Ohio State expects to keep its fast, physical, fundamentally sound identity - the same kind of defense that helped it through key moments last season.
Maybe the biggest message from Big Ten Media Days didn’t come from any one quote. It came from the way everyone else talked about Ohio State. Oregon, Indiana, USC, and the rest of the contenders all seem to be working toward the same destination, and that road still goes through Columbus.
None of that guarantees a title. The Big Ten is deeper, the playoff race will be ruthless, and a few bad breaks can change everything fast. But heading into August, Ohio State has earned the benefit of the doubt.
The Buckeyes aren’t just defending a championship. They’re defending the standard that comes with it.
Every opponent will bring its best shot. Every national discussion will ask the same question: can Ohio State do it again?
That’s the pressure that comes with being the team everyone is chasing.
Big Ten Media Days didn’t change that. If anything, it confirmed it. Ohio State enters the season exactly where a powerhouse expects to be - at the center of the conversation, carrying huge expectations, and ready to prove it belongs there all over again.
And if the SEC keeps talking, the Big Ten probably won’t lose any sleep. Championships tend to settle arguments pretty quickly.
Right now, the league with the trophies isn’t offering excuses. It’s setting the bar.
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At Big Ten Football Media Days, Kyle Whittingham took a notably calmer view of the sports biggest pressure-cooker games, saying rivalry matchups can be intense and emotional without crossing into personal hatred. The Michigan coach specifically said he does not hate Ohio State coach Ryan Day, framing the rivalry as a fierce competition that does not need to spill over into personal animosity.
For Buckeyes fans, the tone is hard to miss, especially given how much of the Ohio State-Michigan buildup usually leans into edge and emotion. Whittinghams comments leave room for the broader rivalry to stay heated on the field, but they also invite a familiar reaction from Columbus, where any hint of restraint in this matchup tends to become its own kind of punch line. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State's Biggest Big Ten Threat Might Surprise Buckeye Fans
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Still, the more intriguing problem on the schedule may not come from the usual suspects. Indiana has emerged as a legitimate contender after a national-title run and has quickly earned respect under Curt Cignetti, enough to make this matchup feel like more than just another checkpoint on Ohio States path. For a team trying to get back on top of the Big Ten, the challenge may arrive in a place Buckeye fans might not have circled first. [Read more 🡒]