INDIANAPOLIS — For the first time in Ryan Day’s tenure as Ohio State coach, the Buckeyes did not come to Big Ten media days as defending league champions.
Michigan wears that crown, and the Buckeyes are determined to reassert themselves as the conference’s king.
“I think the thing that’s unique about Ohio State is every year, we’re expected to win the whole thing,” Day said Wednesday. “That’s part of the deal here. A lot of times you go 11-2 and win the Rose Bowl, you say that’s one heck of a season. Well, not around here. Our goal every year is to beat the Team Up North and win the Big Ten championship and win the national championship, and we didn’t get those things last year.”
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Day is entering his fourth year as Buckeyes coach. Each year has had major challenges. Last year, Ohio State was breaking in a new quarterback, C.J. Stroud, who’d never thrown a collegiate pass, and a defense that was inexperienced at most spots. He knew that growing pains would be inevitable. The team’s weaknesses, particularly on defense, were exposed in losses to Oregon and Michigan and in the first half of the Rose Bowl victory over Utah. Day hired Oklahoma State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles to fix that side of the ball.
“The expectations don’t change year-in and year-out at Ohio State. We all know that. So is it different this year? No. The team is different, though. We have more experience than we had last year. We have a veteran quarterback coming back, a lot more guys on defense who are veterans, and a new scheme on defense.”
In other words, there will be no excuses this year.
“Last year, we were so young that we didn’t know what we didn’t know,” Day said. “This year, we know what it’s like to lose a game. We know what it’s like to lose that rivalry game. And that was not good. And so there are some scars there, which is a good thing.”
Ohio State opens its season against Notre Dame on Sept. 3. That showdown will give the Buckeyes extra incentive during training camp, which starts Aug. 4.
“It amplifies the preseason, for sure,” Day said. “You know you have to play your best football right then and there. You can’t take a game or two to find your footing, so that game is going to be amped up. It’s going to be kind of a frenzy, and…