Eric Boggs
Ryan Day knows what it takes to guide a team through the grind of championship-level football. As Ohio State enters the final stretch of the regular season, the Buckeyes’ head coach made one message clear during Wednesday’s press conference: focus must outweigh the noise.
With a No. 1 ranking, Heisman conversations swirling around several players, and a much-anticipated showdown with Michigan looming in two weeks, it would be easy for Ohio State to lose sight of the immediate task. Day, however, refuses to let that happen.
“The first thing is that everybody has to understand, players, coaches, everybody, how exact, how on point we have to be,” Day said. “That’s every week. It’s going to take great energy, great finish, great focus. It’s going to take everything we’ve got to get there.”
Day’s words carried the tone of a coach who’s seen enough football to know how quickly momentum can shift when attention drifts. He emphasized that past accomplishments and current rankings mean nothing if the team fails to perform in the moment.
“It’s one thing to say, okay, we’ve done X, Y, and Z up until this point, but that means absolutely nothing — like zero,” Day continued. “We’ve done nothing. If we think that has anything to do with this weekend or where we’re going, then we’re dead wrong.”
That laser-focused message is one Ohio State fans have come to expect from Day, especially with the postseason picture already taking shape. The Buckeyes have navigated every challenge with discipline and precision this season, but Day’s reminder was timely: success in November and December doesn’t come from reading headlines or listening to outside praise.
Instead, it’s built one week at a time, one practice at a time, and one play at a time.
For Day, keeping his team grounded in that mindset is as important as any game plan or play call. “We want to be the first team (at Ohio State) ever to be back-to-back,” he said. “It’s easy to say, it’s another thing to do. We’re in the middle of it right now, but we’ve got a lot of work to do, and we’ve got to continue to stay focused on what matters.”
As the Buckeyes prepare for another primetime matchup under the lights in Columbus, Day’s message rings loud and clear — not to the fans or media, but to his locker room. The road to another championship isn’t about hype or polls; it’s about eliminating the noise, trusting the process, and executing with the precision that has defined Ohio State football under Ryan Day.
