Ryan Day hints at day of reckoning, vows to make ‘hard decisions’ after Ohio State’s late-game Texas breakdown

Ohio State coach Ryan Day acknowledged that the Buckeyes’ late-game issues against Texas could be costly. He said the team’s struggles “are going to force us to make some hard decisions.”

The Buckeyes squandered a 20-point fourth-quarter lead Saturday before the Longhorns rallied for an improbable 24-23 victory.

“We had an opportunity certainly to finish the game and knock them out there in the third quarter,” Day told reporters on Tuesday. “It didn’t happen. Then we lost momentum and couldn’t get it back.”

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Ohio State entered Saturday with a 115-game winning streak when leading by 20 points, the sixth-longest active streak in the FBS. The victory moved Texas to No. 1 in the latest AP Top 25, while Ohio State dropped to No. 6.

“It’s extremely frustrating, it’s maddening,” Day added. “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.”

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“We have to win the fourth quarter.”

Throughout the summer, Day returned to a theme he believed would define Ohio State’s season: Against a daunting schedule, the Buckeyes would have to find a way to win the fourth quarter. That mantra took shape after Ohio State failed to close out the final two games of the 2025 season, suffering late-game losses to Indiana and Miami.

Ohio State coach Ryan Day watches his players leave the field after a college football game against the Texas Longhorns at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas, on Sept. 12, 2026. (USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect)

Those fourth-quarter miscues notably surfaced in last season’s Big Ten championship game, when a missed field-goal attempt allowed Indiana to clinch the title. In the College Football Playoff quarterfinal, Miami responded with a 10-play touchdown drive in the fourth quarter to seal the Buckeyes’ defeat.

“We have to do a better job of identifying how we’re going to win these games in the fourth quarter as a group — and do it,” Day said. “We put a lot of work into it, so to see it happen like that is extremely disappointing.”

Hollywood Smothers No. 2 of the Texas Longhorns scores a touchdown against the Ohio State Buckeyes during the fourth quarter at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas, on Sept. 12, 2026. (Getty Images)

While the Buckeyes look to regroup Saturday at home against Kent State, Ohio State’s 2026 schedule still includes road games against Big Ten opponents Indiana and USC, both ranked in the top 12. Indiana went undefeated last season en route to the program’s first national championship.

Ohio State is scheduled to host Oregon the week after facing USC in Los Angeles, then close the regular season with three consecutive games against conference opponents.

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Day emphasized the push for Ohio State to use the painful loss to Texas as a lesson and emerge as a better team.

“If we win that game, then we’re not probably having those conversations. So as much as this hurts and is miserable, we have to move forward with it,” the longtime Buckeyes coach said. “And the plan is to be a better, stronger team … and making sure that as we get ourselves in that situation again, we’re able to finish the game the way we should.”