Vice President JD Vance found a way to turn Ohio State’s latest setback into a political punchline on Monday.
Speaking as the keynote speaker at a Small Business Administration conference in Washington, Vance opened with a joke about the Buckeyes’ loss to Oregon and tied it to the kind of scrutiny that follows a bad result. Vance, who graduated from Ohio State in 2009, said he still expects the team to bounce back.
“Before I get into the meat of my remarks, I wanted to talk about the devastating loss last week,” Vance said. “There are a lot of people unfairly criticizing the leader of the team despite leading us to a great victory two years ago. ...
There’s a lot of staff infighting and questions about reshuffling. There’s a conversation about whether the No. 2 has what it takes to ultimately lead the team.
“I’m talking, of course, about the Ohio State Buckeyes. Let me just assure you that I really believe in Luke Fahey, our backup QB, and I think our team is gonna make an amazing turnaround.”
The remarks also served as a sly nod to last week’s midterm election results, where Republicans dropped key races in Ohio, other battlegrounds and even conservative states such as Texas and South Carolina. That outcome raised fresh questions about the party’s leadership and long-term direction.
Back in Columbus, the fallout from the loss has already started. Sources told CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz that Ryan Day has fired special teams coach Robby Discher. One of the defining moments in Saturday’s game came when Oregon pulled off a fake punt that caught Ohio State off guard and helped fuel the Ducks’ rally.
In Other News...
Ohio State Fans Have A New Reason To Worry About Legend Bey
Legend Bey arrived at Ohio State with some buzz, but his first season has not gone the way many Buckeyes fans hoped. The freshman running back has seen limited playing time, and his path has already been complicated by a suspension early in fall camp. Even with the season moving along, Bey has not been able to carve out much of a role in a backfield that has been difficult to crack.
Bey added another layer of uncertainty this week by posting a cryptic message on social media, which naturally sparked concern about where things stand. Nothing official has been announced, and there is no confirmation that he is entering the transfer portal, but the timing of the post is enough to make people around the program pay attention. For a player still trying to find his footing, and for a fan base watching the running back room closely, it is the kind of development that raises more questions than answers. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Makes Another Special Teams Change After Costly Problems Persist
Ohio State has moved on from special teams coordinator Robby Discher after the 2026 season, another sign that the Buckeyes are still searching for answers in a phase of the game that never quite stabilized. Discher was hired in January with the expectation that he would help clean up a unit that had become a recurring concern, but the same issues kept surfacing, from kickoff and punt return troubles to penalties and miscues in important moments.
Head coach Ryan Day has already acknowledged the problems and made clear the responsibility does not rest with Discher alone, which suggests this is as much about broader accountability as it is about one staffing change. For a program with Ohio States standards, special teams has become too familiar a source of frustration, and the latest move only adds to the sense that more adjustments could still be coming. [Read more 🡒]
Ryan Day Owns Ohio State Collapse As Pressure Builds Fast
Ohio States latest setback was the kind that lingers, because it began with control and ended with a collapse. The Buckeyes jumped out to a 14-0 lead against Oregon, then watched the Ducks reel off 38 unanswered points as the offense stalled and the game slipped away, leaving Ohio State at 6-3 overall and 4-2 in Big Ten play.
Ryan Day did not try to soften the aftermath. He acknowledged the teams problems on offense, where the Buckeyes have struggled to find consistent production on the ground and through the air, and said coaching changes, play calling and personnel adjustments are all under consideration. With the season moving deeper into November, the pressure around the program is only getting louder, and the next steps now matter as much as the loss itself. [Read more 🡒]