2 weeks Ago
The Ohio State Buckeyes entered this season with extremely high expectations, thanks to the impressive work done by Ryan Day and the program to build one of the best rosters in the country through recruiting and the transfer portal. However, during Week 7, when the Buckeyes suffered a tough 32-31 loss to the Oregon Ducks in Eugene, Oregon, Ryan Day faced significant backlash—particularly for the defensive struggles that played a key role in the defeat. In fact, Day nearly made drastic changes to the defense following the loss, revealing on Tuesday that he was close to "reengineering" the entire unit.
"We almost reengineered the defense, almost started from scratch after the Oregon game," Day admitted. "We almost reengineered the defense, almost started from scratch after the Oregon game." - Ryan Day Fortunately, Day didn't overreact, and fast-forward to Week 11, Ohio State’s defense is playing at an all-time high.
In a massive top-five matchup, they held the Penn State offense to just six points and zero offensive touchdowns, securing a dominant performance and was headlined by an elite four down goal line stop in the fourth quarter. With the Buckeyes trending in the right direction, if they can win their remaining games—including a big one against the Indiana Hoosiers—they’ll likely face the Oregon Ducks once again in the Big Ten title game on a neutral site, which is exactly what everyone in Columbus is hoping for. © Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images The Buckeyes are currently ranked No.
3 in the AP Poll, and with the College Football Playoff rankings set to be released on Tuesday night, there isn’t expected to be much movement in Ohio State’s position. It’s likely they will remain the No. 3 team in the country, barring any surprises.
Related: Ohio State Legend Calls for Ryan Day to Bench Will Howard.
