Ryan Day has built Ohio State into a machine that usually handles everyone it should handle. That’s the part that makes these losses sting so much.
The Buckeyes don’t tend to get upset by lesser teams, and they rarely get run off the field. But when the opponent is elite, the list of painful finishes keeps growing.
Saturday night in Austin added another one. Ohio State coughed up a 20-point fourth-quarter lead against Texas, the biggest blown lead of the Ryan Day era and the largest blown lead by any team under a head coach since Nebraska in 2011. It wasn’t even the most damaging collapse Day has overseen in Columbus - that resume already includes blown leads of 16 and 14 points in the College Football Playoff, along with the long-running issues against Michigan - but it fit a pattern that has become impossible to ignore.
The script was familiar from the start. Ohio State kept getting into the Texas red zone, reaching it on each of its first five drives, and came away with only two touchdowns.
That looked a lot like the playoff loss to Clemson and the Big Ten Championship loss to Indiana. The kicking game also came back to bite them again, with an important field goal missed, the kind of miss that has shown up in losses to Georgia, Michigan in 2023 and 2024, Indiana, and Miami.
Then came the second-half stall on offense, another familiar beat from the Michigan losses in 2022 and 2024. And when the game demanded a stop, the defense couldn’t get one, which has been the story in just about every major Ohio State loss except the Indiana game. Add in the clock management issues from Day, and the Texas loss started to feel like a compilation of the same problems rather than a one-off.
None of that erases what Ohio State accomplished in 2024. Winning a national title in a superconference and a 12-team playoff is no small thing, and it shouldn’t be treated like one. But the Buckeyes have also handed away too many chances in close games, and that part of the story is getting harder to dismiss.
Day’s two wins over Michigan and three of his four playoff wins came in games Ohio State controlled for most of the way. The Buckeyes have had a few close ones, including the walk-off-style win at Notre Dame and the Cotton Bowl battle against Texas two years ago. Outside of that, the close games against top teams have mostly gone the other way, with James Franklin’s Penn State standing out as the exception.
The Texas loss also changes the backdrop for the rest of Ohio State’s season. The Buckeyes still have five ranked opponents left, including three road games that are going to be brutal and three matchups against teams they’ve lost to over the last two years. It’s not realistic to expect them to blow through all of that by multiple scores.
At some point, Ohio State is going to have to win one of these tight games against top competition. The standard is high, but that’s the Ohio State standard. And that’s the job.
In Other News...
Ohio State Freshmen Frustration Just Put A New Problem In Public
Ohio States loss to Texas did more than dent the Buckeyes early-season momentum. It also spilled a little of the programs internal frustration into public view, as three freshmen used social media to air dissatisfaction with their roles and limited opportunities, a jarring development for a team that is still trying to settle itself after an important defeat.
Jerquaden Guilford, Brock Boyd and Bey were among the players whose posts drew attention, with language that pointed to a desire for more involvement. For a staff already sorting through a disappointing result, it adds a fresh layer of concern about buy-in and roster harmony, even if there has been no official response yet. [Read more 🡒]
Arch Manning Just Added New Controversy To Texas' Win Over Ohio State
Texas win over No. 1 Ohio State already had enough postgame baggage after Steve Sarkisian abruptly cut off ESPN reporter Holly Rowe during a brief on-field exchange. The moment itself was awkward enough, but it quickly became a bigger talking point once a fake AI-generated video of Sarkisian slapping Rowe started making the rounds online, giving the upset a strange and unnecessary afterlife beyond the scoreboard.
Arch Manning then poured fuel on the reaction when he weighed in on the clip during a Monday exchange, describing it as hilarious. The comment drew immediate criticism on social media, with some users calling for apologies and public statements from both Manning and Sarkisian, turning a celebratory Texas moment into another reminder of how fast a viral postgame clip can shift the conversation. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Needs More Than A Win Against Kent State
Ohio State gets a chance to reset at home this week against Kent State, with the Buckeyes coming off the Week 2 loss to Texas and looking for a cleaner showing on both sides of the ball. The matchup will be carried on FOX and streaming platforms, and on paper it gives Ohio State a comfortable spot to get back on track while working through some of the issues that showed up last time out.
The bigger value here may be less about the result and more about what the Buckeyes can take from it, especially on offense. A lopsided win would be welcome, but Ohio State needs a performance that helps settle the unit, builds confidence after the setback and gives the coaches a better feel for where this team is headed as the schedule tightens. [Read more 🡒]