Ohio State picked up its second win of the 2026 season. The Buckeyes beat Kent State 59-3 at Ohio Stadium on September 19. That result also changed a name on the program’s all-time coaching wins list.

Ryan Day reached 84 wins as Ohio State’s head coach in the Kent State game. He passed Urban Meyer’s 83 and now holds fourth place. Woody Hayes sits first with 205 wins. John Cooper has 111, and Jim Tressel has 94. Day got there in his 97th game with the Buckeyes.

Day had already tied Meyer before this weekend. Ohio State beat Ball State 56-3 on September 5 for Day’s 83rd win. The Buckeyes then lost 23-24 at Texas on September 12, so the total stayed even for another week. 

Day’s official mark is now 84-13 in 97 games, and Meyer finished 83-9 in 92 games. Day needed five more games than Meyer to get one more win. Meyer still holds the higher winning percentage at .902. Whereas Day sits at .866. Moving past Meyer in total wins does not mean Day has passed him in every category.

The coaches ahead of Day needed more time because they coached longer and in seasons with fewer games. Woody Hayes collected 205 wins in 276 games over 28 seasons. John Cooper reached 111 wins in 158 games across 13 seasons. Jim Tressel got to 94 wins in 116 games over 10 seasons. Day has 84 wins in 97 games across parts of nine seasons, counting his three 2018 interim games.

Those three 2018 games matter for the record. Day served as head coach against Oregon State, Rutgers, and TCU while Meyer was suspended. Those wins count officially for Day. Meyer’s 83 wins do not include them. 

Passing Meyer on the wins list leads to a question about how the two tenures compare. 

How Ryan Day’s time stacks up with Urban Meyer

Day’s record after Kent State is 84-13. His seasons run 3-0 as interim in 2018, 13-1 in 2019, 7-1 in 2020, 11-2 in 2021, 11-2 in 2022, 11-2 in 2023, 14-2 in 2024, 12-2 in 2025, and 2-1 so far in 2026. He has never had a losing season. Every full-length year produced at least 11 wins. 

The 2024 College Football Playoff title is Day’s biggest mark. Ohio State went 14-2 that year, and Day became the first coach to win four CFP games in one season. The team also beat five Top-5 opponents. That championship gives Day one national title at Ohio State, the same number Meyer won.

But just like Meyer, there is an argument to make that Ryan Day also leaves food on the table. The Buckeyes have had some heartbreaking postseason losses under Day. Every Ohio State fan still remembers the Georgia game. Even last year, the Buckeyes missed a field goal in the Big Ten Championship game and lost by three points.

That being said, Meyer holds clear edges over Day in other spots. He finished 83-9 with a .902 winning percentage and the 2014 title. Meyer went 7-0 against Michigan, and Day is 2-4 in the rivalry. The four-game losing streak against Michigan was perhaps the biggest question mark on Day’s resume.

Ohio State fans had gotten used to beating the Wolverines under Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer. Fortunately for Day, his team snapped the streak last year with an impressive away win against Michigan at Ann Arbor.

Conference-wise, Meyer was 54-4 in Big Ten play and Day is 55-5. Those numbers show why the career win total does not end the comparison. The two coaches also started from different places. Meyer took over after Ohio State went 6-7 under Luke Fickell in 2011 and built the program back into a national power. Day inherited a 13-1 team that had just won the Big Ten.

He kept Meyer’s staff, scheme, and roster in place at first. His task was to hold the standard through the expanded playoff, NIL, the transfer portal, and a stretch from Michigan. Day has kept the high floor and added the 2024 title.

Tressel’s official total of 94 is the next target. Day needs 10 more wins to match it. A sixth CFP appearance, a third Big Ten title, or another national championship are still possible in 2026.