Skull Session: Ryan Day Says Ohio State’s Losses to Michigan Almost Had the Program “Paralyzed,” Julian Sayin Says “There’s Still More” For Him to Accomplish in 2026

Welcome to the Skull Session.

I’m back.

Let’s rock.

Have a good Wednesday.

GOIN’ THROUGH CHANGES. The late Rear Adm. Grace Hopper once said, “The most dangerous phrase in the language is: ‘We’ve always done it this way.’”

Ryan Day believes that mindset may have contributed to Ohio State’s struggles against Michigan before the Buckeyes finally broke through last season.

Speaking Tuesday on Josh Pate’s College Football Show, Day detailed the changes Ohio State made leading into The Game, emphasizing a more balanced approach to the rivalry — one that respected its importance without allowing it to become overwhelming.

“It starts Day 1 of recruiting when you walk in the building what the No. 1 goal is. Everybody understands that,” Day said of Ohio State beating Michigan. “That’s clear from the jump.”

But after four consecutive losses to the Wolverines, Day said he began reevaluating whether Ohio State had been placing too much emotional weight on The Game throughout the year.

“What you have to do is you have to look at it and figure out, like, what is going wrong here?” he said. “Especially the one two years ago where we were 20-point favorites and lose. It’s like, everything that could go wrong went wrong with a really good team. You just got to bang your head against the wall trying to figure it out.”

Day said he intentionally worked to make Michigan Week feel more routine, rather than amplifying the pressure surrounding the rivalry.

“To me, one of the things is that we would put so much into it from our offseason to — I can’t even tell you what we would do,” he said. “I think the game itself, you have Thanksgiving, for us on Sunday night the band used to come in and do their deal, we would get on the bus and drive up there. Why? Because that’s what they’ve always done here. And I just said, well, we have to keep this more like a normal week and make it normal. If we continue to build every week, then we’ll be ready for that game at the end of the season. Because the guys know how important it is. You can hear it when they talk.”

So Ohio State altered those traditions. The Buckeyes had the band attend practice during a bye week and flew to Ann Arbor instead of taking a bus.

“We just tried to keep everything consistent the best we could,” Day said. “I think it allowed the guys to focus on the game more and not as much on all the other things that come with it. Because if we can master what we do on a week-to-week basis and be really, really good at doing our job and preparing and practicing at a high, high level and then performing on Saturday that’s ultimately what it comes down to. We know the emotion is gonna be there. We know what comes with that game. We know how much it means to everybody. But sometimes when you spend so much on it, and it’s been a couple of years, three years, four years when it’s not going well, there can be so much on it that you can almost become paralyzed when things don’t go well. We didn’t want that to happen.”

Day said the Buckeyes’ calmer approach showed up early in the game after Julian Sayin threw an interception deep in Ohio State territory. Ohio State’s defense held Michigan to a field goal, and Day believed the Buckeyes responded better to early adversity than they had in previous meetings.

“We threw that pick early in the game, and then we came right back and just kept playing,” Day said. “It didn’t affect us like maybe it had in the past.”

I’m all for tradition. I’m also all for beating Michigan. If changing a few routines helps Ohio State do that, traditions be damned. Just beat the Wolverines.

“THERE’S STILL MORE.” In a recent interview with On3’s Chris Low, Julian Sayin said “it was a pretty easy decision” to transfer to Ohio State after Nick Saban retired in early 2024. It was just as easy for him to remain in Columbus after a breakout first year as the Buckeyes’ starting quarterback.

“I didn’t talk to anybody, and there was no reason to talk to me,” Sayin told Low, who asked the star quarterback if he ever considered transferring this offseason. “I wasn’t going anywhere. I would say everybody probably already knew that and wasn’t going to waste their time. … Why would you leave here and play quarterback anywhere else?”

With Sayin entering his second season as Ohio State’s starter, Ryan Day expects the 2025 Heisman finalist to take “that next step.”

“That second year for a quarterback is always huge when you’re trying to take that next step,” Day said. “Julian is more mature physically and more mature mentally as a leader. He’s got a good handle on what we’re trying to do, and when you have experience and have played in these big games, won some of them and lost some of them, there’s no substitute for that. Think about it. His first start was at Texas at home.”

NEW: Ohio State QB Julian Sayin tells @Clowfb beating Michigan last season "needed to get done," but there's still more

"We want to put another one of these banners up. The standard at Ohio State is to win every game."

Exclusive: https://t.co/HC0fsFBFgx pic.twitter.com/65e2omFkp1
— On3 (@On3) May 11, 2026

Jeremiah Smith does, too.

“He’s such a smart player and has a really good head on his shoulders,” he said. “That’s refreshing. We’ve got a veteran group coming back up front. You got a veteran quarterback. It’s not his first time starting now. He can handle a lot, and you’ve got a lot of explosive skill players.”

Looking ahead to 2026, Sayin said Ohio State’s goals remain unchanged: beat Michigan, win a Big Ten championship and win a national title. The Buckeyes accomplished the first goal last season but fell short of the second and third.

“That’s something we needed to get done,” Sayin said of winning The Game. “But there’s still more.”

He added, “We want to put another one of those banners up. The standard at Ohio State is to win every game. We’ve seen what the players that came before us have done, and it’s our responsibility to uphold that standard.”

The People.

The Tradition.

The Excellence.

He gets it!

COACH KEE’S RISE TO THE TOP. This week, Keenan Bailey appeared on The Left Hash Call with Seth Howard and Coach Dan Casey.

In the 53-minute episode, Bailey detailed his rise from Ohio State offensive intern in 2016 to tight ends coach and co-offensive coordinator in 2026.

But wait! There’s more!

Bailey also shared what he learned working under two of the game’s top offensive minds in Urban Meyer and Ryan Day, as well as his desire to continue learning from Ohio State’s latest playcaller, Arthur Smith.

But wait! There’s more!... Again!

The conversation also covers tight end development, the evolution of Ohio State’s offense, the importance of research and note-taking for young coaches and how the Buckeyes responded to adversity during their national championship run in 2024.

“This one is packed with ball, coaching insight, and stories from inside one of the most competitive programs in the country,” Howard and Casey wrote in their promotion for the episode.

I can confirm all three of those things.

The episode was outstanding.

Give it a listen soon.

THE BEST BLACK UNIFORM. Ohio State and Cincinnati traded some friendly (I think?) blows on social media this week.

After the Buckeyes revealed their new all-black uniforms with gray stripes on Monday, Cincinnati football’s X account posted an image of the Bearcats' all-black threads with a caption that reads, “The best black uniform in football.”

The best black uniform in football. pic.twitter.com/j5JUgvuWwY
— Cincinnati Football (@GoBearcatsFB) May 12, 2026

Ohio State’s creative team responded Tuesday with a subtle jab at UC — and other schools — by captioning images of Jeremiah Smith with “THE best black uniform in college football.”

THE best black uniform in college football pic.twitter.com/x1K6E4xl9g
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) May 12, 2026

.@OhioStateFB BIGGEST Brand in College Football. Not even close

We bring back our Black Uniform, now every program randomly wants to post their black uniforms speaks for itself
#GoBucks
— Ethan Miller (@ethantlmiller) May 12, 2026

Well done, Buckeyes.

Well done.

NEW DUBCAST. Today's Eleven Dubcast enlists 11W film guru Kyle Jones for his reaction to Keenan Bailey's recent podcast appearance on The Left Hash Call in which the Ohio State co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coach discussed how his experience helps shapes what's ahead. The show also laughs at SEC schools eating each other.