Ohio State looked untouchable this season. Seven games in, zero losses, and the No. 1 ranking in the AP Poll. They’ve flattened Texas, silenced Washington in Seattle, and sent Illinois packing in Champaign. Still, even perfection comes with its irritants like that one moment a coach can’t quite let go of. For Ryan Day, it came in a game that should’ve been nothing more than a routine blowout against Wisconsin. The Badgers, a two-win team, hosted the Buckeyes in Madison and got trampled, 34-0. But what got under the HC’s skin was one particular trick play that made his blood boil all over again, even days later.

That irritation resurfaced when Eleven Warriors’ Chase Brown dropped a little gem on X on October 30. On his weekly radio show, 97.1 The Fan in Columbus, Ryan Day admitted he was “doing good” until OSU legend and co-host Jim Lachey casually brought up that fake punt conversion. “My blood pressure has now all of a sudden skyrocketed again,” he said. “That cannot happen. That was embarrassing. Yeah, that can’t happen again.” Now, when a coach uses the word “embarrassing” after rendering their opponents scoreless, you know he’s still seeing that play in his nightmares.

Here’s what happened. Down 27-0 in the fourth quarter, Wisconsin figured threw all caution to the wind and went wild. With nothing to lose and a full moon hanging over Camp Randall, Luke Fickell decided to roll the dice on fourth-and-19 from his own territory. A fake punt ensued that ended in pure chaos. 

Punter Atticus Bertrams caught the snap, hesitated just long enough to freeze the Buckeyes’ coverage unit, then took off. He planted his foot, juked a defender out of his cleats, and sprinted for the first down. 19 yards later, the Badgers’ sideline erupted like they’d just won the Rose Bowl. It was gutsy, reckless, and utterly meaningless all at once. Wisconsin still ended the night scoreless, but for one brief, bizarre moment, the punter was the hero. Ryan Day didn’t find it heroic. He found it humiliating. In his world, even one blown assignment in a 34-point win feels like a moral loss. 

Because for all the glory Ohio State has piled up this season, the HC knows that championship teams aren’t judged by blowouts. They’re judged by the details. And for him, that one fake punt remains a small, nagging reminder that even a perfect record can have its imperfect moments. But for now, Ryan Day has parked the frustration and set his eyes on a bigger challenge.

Ryan Day braces for Penn State

Familiar faces. Unfamiliar stakes. The mission is to keep Ohio State unbeaten and the top spot safe. But the undercurrents are far from simple. The Buckeyes haven’t fallen to Penn State since 2016, riding an eight-game win streak and a 14-2 home record against the Nittany Lions since 1993. Yet this time, there’s an extra wrinkle. Ryan Day will be staring across the field at a familiar mind this Saturday. His former defensive coordinator, Jim Knowles. The genius who helped craft Ohio State’s national title-winning defense before bolting to State College in a stunning offseason move. Now, mentor meets mercenary. 

“There hasn’t been much communication,” Ryan Day admitted. “He did a great job when he was here, helped us win a national championship and kind of left it at that. You know, we had to go make a replacement and move on from there.” Still, this won’t be a sentimental reunion. Penn State may look wobbly after James Franklin’s firing and losing QB Drew Allar for the season, but the Buckeyes HC isn’t buying the down year narrative. “I don’t think there are many teams in the country that have more talent than Penn State had,” he said. “Sure, the season hasn’t gone the way they wanted it to, but that doesn’t change that they still have really good players.”

Ryan Day knows the Nittany Lions will come swinging, desperate to play spoiler in front of a national audience. But you can be sure that he won’t let another “embarrassing” moment creep in this week.