The Buckeyes entered Saturday as heavy 32.5-point favorites, and fans in Columbus weren’t debating the outcome so much as the margin. The game itself unfolded exactly as Buckeye Nation expected. OSU wasted no time establishing control, and by halftime, the Bobcats were staring at a double-digit deficit they had no chance of erasing. A dominant 37–9 victory over Ohio pushed the defending national champions to 3–0 on the season.

The game was widely labeled as a snooze fest for its one-sided nature. Peacock’s Paul Burmeister and Chris Simms went so far as to suggest viewers should switch over to NBC to catch the end of Texas A&M vs. Notre Dame. For Buckeye Nation, though, the frustration wasn’t with the scoreline. Watching their team smother an opponent is never boring. What soured the experience was the broadcast itself; from mispronouncing Ryan Day and Julian Sayin’s names to suggesting fans tune out entirely, Peacock turned a celebration of dominance into a distraction.

During the game, the NBC announcer Chris Simms misspelled Ohio State HC Ryan Day as Jason Day and Julian Sayin as Jaylen Sayin multiple times. An X user and Buckeye faithful, Dustin West, took to X to voice what many were thinking: “@CSimmsQB was absolutely horrendous during tonight’s broadcast. Called Ryan Day ‘Jason Day,’ continually calling Julian Sayin ‘Jaylen Sayin.’ They both kept repeating themselves over n over again with nonsense. Do better @peacock.” 

West’s post wasn’t just a lone complaint; it echoed the collective frustration of fans who expect the defending national champions to be covered with the respect they’ve earned. For a fan base that treats details with reverence, those lapses felt disrespectful. Ohio State had done its job on the field and delivered exactly the dominance everyone expected. Yet instead of lauding that performance, fans were left correcting the announcers and wondering how Peacock could get something so basic so wrong.

Chris Simms’s commentary leads to outrage

One fan, baffled by the repeated errors, asked simply: “Btw who’s Jason Day??” Another chimed in to clear up the confusion, pointing out that the broadcast team had meant Ryan Day, Ohio State’s head coach, and Julian Sayin, the Buckeyes’ quarterback. Others went further, turning their frustration into blunt reviews of the broadcast.

“Chris Simms is by far the worst commentator I’ve ever listened to in my life,” one viewer declared, while another put it even more harshly: “Chris Simms is the worst commentator in all of sports, and it’s not particularly close.” The sarcasm didn’t stop there. One fan said they muted the TV entirely, adding, “The only thing worse than Simms as a player is listening to him talk. About anything. Ever.” 

Another joked about the mispronunciations, writing, “Now let’s throw it to Jason Day and Jaiden Sayin for the post-game interview.” The sentiment was unanimous: when you’re calling a game for the nation’s top team, the least you can do is pronounce their names correctly.

Weirdly, the Buckeye nation had already expressed its frustration over buying Peacock’s subscription to watch the game. That’s all down to the Big Ten’s deal with NBC. Many opted to listen to the game on the radio rather than paying the amount. And those who did? We can gauge their experience from these comments. You simply can’t treat the No. 1 team like that.