Ohio State’s Loss to Oregon Highlights Major Concern About Ryan Day

The Ohio State Buckeyes' loss to the Oregon Ducks raised a major concern about Ryan Day.

Oct 12, 2024; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day motions during the first half of the NCAA football game against the Oregon Ducks at Autzen Stadium / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Ryan Day and the No. 2 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes were looking to come through with a massive win on Saturday night. Going up against the No. 3 ranked Oregon Ducks gave them a massive opportunity to porve they were national championship favorites.

Unfortunately, when the final whistle blew, Ohio State lost by a final score of 32-31.

With the loss, Day's record against top five opponents got even worse. it was a already a major concern heading into the game.

As shared by Yahoo Sports, Day is now just 1-7 against top five teams following the loss to Oregon.

The Buckeyes have struggled against the nation's best under Ryan Day 😳 pic.twitter.com/oYDBhswxac

— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) October 13, 2024

Coming into the 2024 college football season, there were rumblings that Day might not be as safe as some believe he is and that he could be fired if things don't go right this year.

While that would be a crazy move to see, is it really that far-fetched?

The Buckeyes don't play to compete for a spot in the College Football Playoff. They play to win football games and make national championship runs.

If an Ohio State team can't beat top five opponents, they're not close to being where they want to be. Day has not proven that he's capable of winning the big games. Losing to the Ducks was just another example of that statement.

Now, we're not suggesting that Day should be fired. But, if there was any truth to those rumblings before the season began, this is not a good look for the Buckeyes' head coach.

Hopefully, Ohio State will be able to bounce back strong from this loss. In two games, they will have a tough road matchup against a highly ranked Penn State Nittany Lions team.

All of that being said, no one should overreact to one loss. However, this is a major concern that Day has not been able to beat top teams.

Only time will tell if he can get that statistic turned around in the future, but if the team falls well short of expectations this year, Day's seat could start feeling very hot.