By admin 
Sometimes, what defines a college football season is the way a team responds. No longer accepting the pressure of being the nation’s No. 1 team, the newly ranked No. 6 Ohio State Buckeyes will attempt to reset with a home game against the Kent State Golden Flashes this Saturday (noon ET, FOX) in Columbus.
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Addressing reporters on Tuesday, coach Ryan Day, whose Buckeyes squandered a 20-point lead against the Texas Longhorns in Austin to drop a 24-23 decision, recognizes a repeat performance could be the beginning of more questions than answers regarding their eventual College Football Playoff body of work.
Although Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian told reporters Monday that the CFP should consider last Saturday night’s instant classic an unofficial postseason benchmark, Day dialed it back. Instead, Day admitted that the biggest area of improvement the Buckeyes can make is controlling the team’s controllables instead of letting games slip away entirely.
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“At the end of the day, we have to look at it through that lens and then we have to get it fixed,” Day said. “I think that really is what it comes down to: trying to identify what actually happened in the game and then making sure that, as we get ourselves in that situation again, we’re able to finish the game the way that we should.”
Closing out games is critical for any team, but especially Ohio State as it was trying to make a statement against an ultra-talent Longhorns team led by Heisman-contending quarterback, Arch Manning.
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“As you can imagine, it’s extremely frustrating, it’s maddening and we’re excited to get back on the field and get going because the last couple of days haven’t been fun around here,” Day said.
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Day said having the week to regroup before Big Ten play begins next Saturday in a rematch from last season against the Illinois Fighting Illini (noon ET, Fox), the timing couldn’t be more ideal, Day said.
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“As this hurts and it is miserable, we have to move forward with it and we’re gonna get some of that information,” Day said. “We’re gonna work through it. And the plan is to be a better, stronger team as we head into conference play.”
We’ll see how the Buckeyes respond, as they remain in the College Football Playoff mix. But, what remains unknown is how long.
Today’s best reads
- Ohio State Has a Ryan Day Problem After Historic Collapse Against Texas
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- Ryan Day Faces Tough Questions After Ohio State’s Stunning Loss to Texas
- No. 1 Ohio State Implodes in Shocking Road Loss vs. No. 4 Texas in Top-5 Matchup
- 3 Things Ohio State Football Must Do to Beat Texas
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/ohiostate as 3 Huge Ohio State Observations From Ryan Day Ahead of Kent State Showdown.
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This story was originally published September 16, 2026 at 5:00 AM.