Ryan Day’s Buckeyes are rolling through 2025, ready to flatten anyone in their path. That’s what they’ve been doing, anyway. Ohio State leads 5-0 after Week 5, and it’s not hard to see where the players’ winning attitude comes from. “They’re edgy, and they like to compete. That’s something we want to have as an identity… These guys aren’t gonna back down to anybody,” the HC said at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. “The most desperate and hungry team is gonna win every Saturday.”

On October 4, Ohio State once again turned The Shoe into a cauldron, drawing 105,114 fans for its showdown against Minnesota. Kellyanne Stitts’ X report confirmed it. Four home games, four times the Buckeyes have blasted past the 100K mark. But that’s just the headline. The reason behind it is even louder.

Ohio State has been commanding each of its wins. From the gritty 14–7 opener over Texas in front of 107,524 to the 70–0 demolition of Grambling State with 100,624 fans watching, the Buckeyes are treating Ohio Stadium like their personal kingdom. Even against in-state rival Ohio, 105,765 showed up to watch Ryan Day flex that “still the boss” energy. Saturday’s win lifted his career winning percentage to .882, a mark that, if he had enough seasons to qualify, would edge Knute Rockne for the highest in college football history. And it’s not just the HC. His players are following the script. 

Julian Sayin, in his first season as a starter, looked every bit promising. Deep passes connected to Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate, 40 yards or longer, while the duo combined for three touchdowns and 250 yards of offense. The legacies of Dwayne Haskins, C.J. Stroud, and Justin Fields continue in Ohio Stadium, with Brian Hartline’s receivers making every throw count. And while Columbus was thundering, chaos reigned elsewhere.

Chaos for Penn State and Texas

Preseason playoff hopefuls aren’t playing like it. Penn State, ranked No. 7, fell to winless UCLA 42–37, who entered the game as 24.5-point underdogs. This wild upset marked the first time in 40 years a top-10 team lost to a winless opponent. James Franklin now owns a historic collapse for the record books, alongside 1985’s UTEP over BYU upset.

Texas followed suit, losing 29–21 to Florida. Arch Manning threw two picks, was sacked six times, and the Longhorns, reeling from their Week 1 loss to Ohio State, looked completely out of sync. The Red River Rivalry looms, but any hope of momentum has evaporated. Now, both Penn State and Texas’ playoff odds dangle by a thread. 

While rivals crumble and chaos spreads, Ryan Day’s Buckeyes just keep winning, packing the Shoe, and cementing Columbus as the nation’s new epicenter of college football dominance. Business as usual in Columbus.