Ryan Day Says “Fun is Kicking Ass,” Focused on Process over Praise During Appearance on Pat McAfee Show

By Dan Hope on November 6, 2025 at 3:18 pm
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Based on Ryan Day’s definition of fun, the Ohio State coach should be having plenty of fun this season.

Asked Thursday on The Pat McAfee Show if he’s having fun this season, Day responded by explaining that winning is what brings him joy.

“Fun is winning. Fun is kicking ass. Losing is no fun,” Day told McAfee. 

Ohio State’s done a lot of ass-kicking this season, winning its first eight games of the season by an average of 29.75 points per game. That led to plenty of praise from McAfee and his crew during Thursday’s show – but Day was far happier when McAfee said the Buckeyes have “won absolutely nothing” so far this year.

“That’s right, and that’s exactly the message, too,” Day said as McAfee interrupted him to give Ohio State more praise. “Keep telling everybody that, because that's what I'm telling – we haven't won a thing yet. We haven't done a thing yet. So we've got a long way to go.”

When McAfee pointed out that Ohio State was ranked No. 1 in the initial College Football Playoff, Day interjected.

“Don’t start with that crap,” Day said with a smile.

As he has all year long, Day stressed how it is important for the Buckeyes to stick to their process week in and week out rather than allowing the praise their team is receiving to get to their heads.

“I think it does and can have an affect on your team, I don't think that there's any question about that. And I think to act like the fans, the players, the staff members, the recruits, their families aren't watching and listening, that's being naive,” Day said. “So for us, I know it sounds cliché, and this is the message that I've been talking to our team about, is that we just cannot get comfortable, and we cannot get bored with just the same old thing over and over again. And that's having a great week of preparation and then putting it on the field on Saturday. And that's it.

“What we're trying to chase is we want to be the best in the country at what we do, and we know that we have to play our best football here in the second half of the season. And this is where all the good stuff happens, right now. People say ‘Ignore the noise’ when things aren't going well; well, it's the same thing when things are going well. Criticism and blame are all the same. And so you have to stay disciplined and focused on what really matters, and that's the messaging. It's going to take a bunch of guys in this building right here, to stay focused week in and week out, and we've got to do that again on Saturday.”

That said, Day said he tries to make sure the Buckeyes keep their preparation fun so that everyone enjoys coming to the Woody Hayes Athletic Center every day as they navigate the grind of a season that they hope will extend into late January once again.

“I will say this: Being around these players and these coaches is fun. Coming to the building every day is fun. And I think for this age group, it's important that when you walk in this building every day, if you're going to play all the way to January, these guys better like coming to the building, because if they don't, it's not going to go very well,” Day said. “And so we have to figure out ways to drive them, push them, make them uncomfortable, but they have to like being around each other. And it's like that with the staff and with the players.”

During his interview with McAfee, Day also spoke about the Buckeyes’ “Bloody Tuesday” practices, what Matt Patricia has brought to Ohio State this season and Julian Sayin’s success as the Buckeyes’ starting quarterback.

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