Is Ohio State meeting Ryan Day's expectations through 3 weeks?

Since taking over the Ohio State Buckeyes, Ryan Day has set a standard in Columbus. In his two seasons as Buckeyes head coach, Day has won the Big Ten Championship each year, coming within a game of winning a national championship last season.

Entering his third season, Day faced a new challenge — building the Ohio State offense around a player not named Justin Fields. Still, the expectations remained high around the nation for the Buckeyes.

However, Day stated earlier this week that he didn’t have many expectations for the 2021 season.

“I didn’t have many expectations because there was so many unknowns going into the season,” stated Day. “There were so many guys that we had — we talked about this in the spring, we talked about this in the preseason, now here we are, just guys that hadn’t played. You do the best you can in practice to prepare them, but until they’re actually in a game you just don’t know.

“I didn’t know what this year would bring, and here we are — a whole new journey. This is kind of brand new for us. We’re having such a young, inexperienced team. Working through this journey to the end of the season.”

While Ohio State does have a young team, many expected them to run away with the Big Ten. The Buckeyes still could dominate conference play, but gritty wins against Minnesota and Tulsa and a loss to Oregon point to regression.

Day: ‘We’re forging an identity as a team’

Furthermore, Day continued to stress that the season is still young. Ohio State is remaining focused on getting their young stars experience, but the Buckeyes are still searching for an identity.

“It’s still early on, and I think we’re going to be steadfast in getting the experience that we need,” stated Day. “But we’re also forging an identity as a team. What identity do we want to have as a team, with this group right here. 

“I didn’t know what this would be, I didn’t have expectations — I’m hopeful that we can keep working and as we look back here in a few weeks, we can see a lot of growth. That we did a really good job of coaching, and building guys up and teaching. And stuck together, when these first few weeks haven’t been ideal. But that’s life too.”

Day gives good life advice about sticking together to reach your goals, but a head coach stating he didn’t have expectations may not inspire the most confidence. Still, Ohio State has plenty of time to right the ship — with games against Akron, Rutgers and Maryland prior to an all-important matchup with Penn State in October.

Day didn’t have expectations for the Ohio State Buckeyes, but that comes with the success he’s had so far.