COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — With two losses, Ohio State football has matched its high for a single season during the eight seasons of the Ryan Day era.
That doesn’t even tell the whole story.
While Day has been the head coach of the Buckeyes since 2019, the streak of seasons with two losses or less actually goes back to 2011, when the team was decimated by NCAA suspension and Luke Fickell was keeping the head coaching seat warm for one season between College Football Hall of Famers Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer.
After going 6-7, Fickell returned to being defensive coordinator for the Buckeyes under Meyer, and the winning resumed, too.
Meyer never lost more than two in his seven seasons at the helm, and Tressel did so only three times in 10, including his first season, 2001.
Not only are double-loss seasons rare in Columbus, two coming in the regular season is more unusual: This is the fourth time in the last 15 seasons and only the 10th in the last 25.
Losing two before Nov. 1 is even more uncommon, having happened only once (this year) since 2011 and six times in the last 25 years.
That serves to explain why Day was not merely being rhetorical when he said: “We’re not allowed to lose games, and when that happens there’s consequences. That’s just the way it is, and if you don’t like it, then don’t come to Ohio State.”
The Buckeyes’ latest setback came Saturday night, 30-18 at USC. It included a new face at quarterback — freshman Luke Fahey — and a few problems that have been consistent for Ohio State all season.
The Buckeyes moved the ball on offense but had trouble finishing drives, and special teams were an issue as a long punt return set up on of USC’s touchdowns.
The offensive line cleared the way for more than 200 yards rushing, but Fahey was under heavy pressure most of the night when the Buckeyes wanted to pass.
Those issues dominated the conversation Tuesday as Day and the Buckeyes began preparations for a visit from Oregon on Saturday afternoon at Ohio Stadium.
Day said he was “not in the frame of mind” to make staff changes, but everything is up for examination this week with the 11th-ranked Buckeyes still in control of their destiny for the Big Ten championship game, but potentially out of mulligans when it comes to making the CFP.
“When I go back through the scheme, there are definitely some plays on both sides of the ball that I think schematically we can do better — there are,” Day said. “But it’s not an overall issue that we’re like running bad plays or we’re running bad defense. I don’t see that as a major problem.
“There’s always things we can do better — certainly recognize that — but to me, we have to coach it better.
“We got to coach it better, and that starts right here, but then it goes to the coordinators, and then it goes to position coaches.”
He did not absolve the players, either, especially after the Buckeyes were called for 11 penalties at USC.
“There’s a certain level of accountability for these guys that they’re expected to do their job at a high level, but that’s the way that I’m approaching this week,” Day said. “We all have to coach this better and take responsibility as a player, and that’s the way that I’ve evaluated it coming out of the USC game.”
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By MARCUS HARTMAN
Associated Press
