The Ohio State Buckeyes may have lost quarterback Julian Sayin for the season, but that doesn’t change the expectations in Columbus. Coming off a loss to USC, it feels like the sky is falling for Ohio State football (it always does after a loss), and the pressure on Ryan Day and the Buckeyes is very high.

Ohio State has to win out the rest of the way if it wants to be sure of a spot in the College Football Playoff. That starts with a tough game against Oregon on Saturday.

Ryan Day leaves the door open on in-season staff changes

Ohio State coach Ryan Day has said recently that the program’s expectations don’t change, no matter who is on the field. When those expectations aren’t met, repercussions usually follow.

Day was asked on Tuesday whether he would consider making coaching staff changes during the season. 

“I don’t think that you know I’m like against any of that if it’s appropriate,” Day said. “I’m not in that frame of mind right now, but at the same time, I think again going back to what we were talking about before, you have to identify personnel. So maybe we need to change some, move some guys around. I think it does hurt missing some guys, but I think at the end of the day, we feel like we have enough here to win these games. Then you look at scheme, and when I go back through the scheme, there are definitely some plays on both sides of the ball that I think schematically we can do better.”

That is Day himself saying he isn’t ruling out staff changes in-season. It could mean a coordinator or a position coach getting shuffled around, or even someone losing their job. Day made it clear he isn’t there yet, but he also didn’t shut the idea down.

The scheme comment stands out. Day pointed to plays on both sides of the ball, so this isn’t only about an offense that is without its starting quarterback. The defense is part of the conversation too.

Ohio State is in unfamiliar territory under Day

The Buckeyes already have two losses this season. Day has never lost more than two games in a season as the head coach at Ohio State. He’s 88-14 overall in Columbus, a record that has set the bar about as high as it goes.

One more loss would mark the first time Day has dropped three games in a season as a head coach. Avoiding that means Ohio State is going to need quite a run over the final stretch of the schedule and postseason.

It was always known that Ohio State’s schedule was going to be a gauntlet this year. Losing the starting quarterback certainly wasn’t in the plans. Still, injuries don’t move the standard inside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, and Day knows it.

Oregon is a must-win for the Buckeyes

Saturday’s matchup with Oregon will decide a lot about how the rest of this season plays out. A win keeps Ohio State’s playoff hopes alive and buys the staff some breathing room. 

A loss would bring the questions Day answered on Tuesday right back to the surface, only louder.

It’s still Columbus, and it’s still the Ohio State Buckeyes. Expectations have to be met, and that much is clear. If Ohio State lays a stinker against the Ducks at home, you can almost guarantee real change is coming.