Buckeyes’ Ryan Day makes playoff admission that may concern Ohio State fans

November 6, 2026 · Yahoo Sports

The College Football Playoff selection committee placed the Ohio State Buckeyes at No. 12 in its first rankings of the season on Tuesday, Nov. 3, and on this week’s board that number lands one spot outside the field. The Boise State Broncos, ranked No. 25, hold the automatic bid for the highest-ranked Group of Five champion, which leaves Ohio State as the first team out.

The Buckeyes got there with a 30-18 loss to the unranked USC Trojans on Oct. 31, the first time Ohio State has taken two losses before November since 2011. True freshman Luke Fahey made his first career start in that game because Julian Sayin is out with an injury to his throwing arm, suffered in a 19-15 win at the Indiana Hoosiers on Oct. 17. Ohio State coach Ryan Day has already said Sayin’s return is “not going to be next week or next month.”

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“No margin right now. There was a thin margin last week; now there’s no margin. We knew that when we saw the schedule. We saw what this stretch was gonna be like on the road and what was gonna come and coming back home and playing Oregon. We’re in it right now,” Day said on the Ryan Day Radio Show this week.

Ryan Day knows what the #Buckeyes have to do: “To me, it’s just win.”
@CBSSportsCFB https://t.co/R4xEd84BC9
— Bucknuts (@Bucknuts247) November 6, 2026

Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day yells during the NCAA football game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Nov. 22, 2025. Ohio State won 42-9.

Can Ohio State win out with a freshman at quarterback?

Four regular-season games remain: the No. 23 Oregon Ducks visit Columbus on Saturday, followed by the Northwestern Wildcats, the Nebraska Cornhuskers and the Michigan Wolverines.

Ohio State’s six wins include Indiana, now No. 4 in the committee’s rankings, and No. 19 Iowa, and its two losses both came on the road. A 10-2 finish would put the Buckeyes in strong position for a spot in the 12-team field.

At USC, Ohio State reached the red zone four times and came away with three field goals. Fahey finished 21 of 38 for 260 yards and a touchdown, and the Buckeyes did not find the end zone until the final minutes.

“At the end of the day, once we get in a red zone, we have to be able to run the ball and then we have to be able to win one-on-ones on the outside and you know certainly that is something that is extremely frustrating,” Day said at his Tuesday news conference.

Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day watches from the sideline during the first half of the NCAA football game against the Texas Longhorns at Ohio Stadium on Aug. 30, 2025.

A win over Oregon would give Ohio State a third victory over a team in the committee’s top 25, and every loss by a team ranked above the Buckeyes opens room to climb before the next rankings come out on Tuesday, Nov. 10.

Over the next four weeks, though, that plan depends on turning red-zone trips into touchdowns with a first-year quarterback taking the snaps. Oregon is 5-3, and the Ducks scored 41 points against the same USC defense that held Ohio State to one late touchdown, winning 41-27 in Los Angeles in September.

Buckeyes’ Ryan Day makes playoff admission that may concern Ohio State fans

Can Ohio State win out with a freshman at quarterback?

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