Skull Session: Ohio State Football is Back, Ryan Day Wants His New-Look Buckeyes to Build Competitive Stamina and Be a Tribe Over a Team

By Chase Brown on August 6, 2026 at 4:55 am
Ryan Day
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Welcome to the Skull Session.

No more sleeps until Ohio State football.

And no more sleep for me come January 2027.

Have a good Thursday.

 “THERE’S GOING TO BE ADVERSITY.” Ryan Day joined the Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday and shared what he believes will determine whether Ohio State can make another run at a national championship in 2026: building the type of chemistry and purpose that turns a group of players into something more.

“Because there are new names in the building, and we have to do this in short order, there’s going to be adversity along the way and pulling together and building that competitive stamina all the way to Jan. 25 is gonna be the key here,” Day said. “So much of it is in the offseason. What we do in the weight room, what we do in terms of building teams — it’s so much of it.

“For us, it’s like, what is this time about? The way we describe it are there are teams and tribes. Teams are a bunch of people who have the same uniform, that are in the same locker room. A tribe is a group of people that come together for one common purpose. Making sure that everybody in that locker room is thinking about that one purpose.

“In today’s day and age, with everything going on NIL-wise, the portal, it’s very easy to get distracted and guys can start going in different directions. Championship teams have that purpose, and they all come together. To your point, that is the key. So much of it has been built up since we all got together in January, but a lot of it is gonna have to happen right now in preseason camp.”

Day’s comments are a reminder that Ohio State’s biggest challenge this season might not be a lack of talent. It’s bringing together a roster filled with elite players, new faces and high expectations into one cohesive group.

The Buckeyes have plenty of star power. They have the reigning national championship pedigree. They have arguably the best player in college football in Jeremiah Smith. But as Day has repeatedly emphasized, talent alone does not win championships.

The teams that survive the adversity Day referenced are the ones that become tribes — not just groups of players wearing the same uniform, but teammates willing to sacrifice for the same goal. That journey begins Thursday.

 TOUGHER THAN TOUGH. Praise be to ESPN’s Jake Trotter, who picked Ohio State as the school with the toughest schedule in college football in an article handing out schedule superlatives for the 2026 season.

Trotter deserves praise for two reasons: First, he’s an excellent reporter who covers Ohio State from time to time. Second, he went against ESPN’s College Football Power Index, which ranks the Buckeyes’ strength of schedule No. 8 behind seven SEC schools: Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Kentucky, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Florida. (The Buckeyes also have seven SEC schools immediately behind them: Texas A&M, South Carolina, LSU, Missouri, Auburn, Tennessee and Alabama. Funny how that works!)

Here’s what Trotter wrote about Ohio State’s gauntlet:

Last season, the Buckeyes beat then-top-ranked Texas in the opener and cruised through the rest of the regular season. Ohio State faced only two more opponents ranked — No. 17 Illinois and No. 15 Michigan — and rolled by a combined 36 points.

The Buckeyes didn't see the Big Ten's other top teams — Indiana, Oregon and USC — and a Nov. 1 showdown against Penn State didn't materialize, as the Nittany Lions fell apart.

Were last year's Buckeyes battled-tested for the postseason?

They lost to the Hoosiers 13-10 in the Big Ten title game before falling 24-14 to Miami in a playoff quarterfinal. In both defeats, Ohio State got pushed around up front.

This season's schedule is a different story. The Buckeyes go to Texas on Sept. 12. In mid-October, they travel to Indiana (Oct. 17) and USC (Oct. 31) before taking on Oregon on Nov. 7, capping a brutal three-game stretch.

Should the Buckeyes return to the playoff, they'll definitely be battled-tested this time.

I like the sound of that.

 THREE SILVER BULLETS. Breaking: The stars of Ohio State’s 2025 defense are good at football.

With NFL training camps in full swing, coaches, players, media members and more have spent the past few weeks confirming what Buckeye fans already knew: Arvell Reese, Sonny Styles and Caleb Downs are pretty special football players.

New York Giants right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor, a nine-year NFL veteran, has quickly become a fan of Reese after lining up against the rookie linebacker in practice. Eluemunor called the former Buckeye “a dang good player” and said he’s grateful Reese is wearing the same uniform.

“I think he’s going to be a pretty dang good player,” Eluemunor said, via The Athletic’s Charlotte Carroll. “I’m glad he’s on our team. I’ll tell you that. He’s quick. He’s physical. You can tell he truly loves this game and that his instincts are just ridiculous. I had one play today where I climbed to the second level, and we smacked each other, and I tripped, just in case there’s a video (laughter). I got tripped. I got tripped! There was something behind me, and I got table-topped! … I like him a lot.”

Washington Commanders linebacker Javon Kinlaw has been just as impressed with Styles, calling the former Buckeye safety a “freak of nature.”

“Just a freak of nature, bro,” Kinlaw said, via WUSA's John Doran. “Me and him are looking eye to eye, but clearly he’s running probably 10 miles (per hour) faster than I’m running. He’s coming downhill. He’s coming downhill, and he’s bringing thump with it. It’s just fun to see a young, spy guy just bouncing all over the field, bro. He’s just in the box with these running backs, and he ain’t getting danced out of the hole.

“You love to see that. He ain’t losing his ground on no contact. He can do some outstanding things in coverage. It’s a blessing, bro. It’s a blessing for me to be around someone like that.”

Then there’s Downs, who has already earned the respect of one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks. Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott said Downs’ preparation and approach have stood out from the moment he arrived in Dallas.

“He’s as sharp of a young guy as I’ve ever seen,” Prescott said, via The Athletic’s Jon Machota. “It starts with his mentality and his approach to the game. It’s who he is. Obviously you can see it on the football field. You see it any moment that football is being talked about, whether it’s in the meetings or whether it’s a walk-through or it’s at practice. But just to spend time around the guy outside of football, whether it’s playing golf or just hanging out, shooting a commercial with him, that’s who he is. And that is contagious.”

Man, we were lucky to watch those three wear the scarlet and gray, weren’t we?

 POINTING RICK DALTON. The new season of Ted Lasso premiered Tuesday on Apple TV, and as my wife and I watched a scene where Lasso attends a KC Current match alongside his former AFC Richmond colleagues, I had a full Leonardo DiCaprio/Rick Dalton/Once Upon a Time in Hollywood moment:

As footage from what appeared to be a real KC Current match played on screen, I spotted former Ohio State defender Izzy Rodriguez celebrating a goal with her teammates.

Rodriguez, now in her fifth season in the National Women's Soccer League, starred at Ohio State from 2017-21. She was named Big Ten Defender of the Year in 2020 and received the Big Ten Medal of Honor in 2022, becoming just the second Buckeye women's soccer player to earn the conference's highest individual honor.

Kansas City selected Rodriguez with the No. 43 overall pick in the fourth round of the 2022 NWSL Draft, and she has developed into one of the league's top defenders. Rodriguez has also broken through with the U.S. Women's National Team, making two appearances and scoring her first international goal in a friendly against the Republic of Ireland in June 2025.

Rodriguez won't receive a screen credit for her appearance in Ted Lasso, but it's still fun to spot Buckeyes wherever they pop up — especially in one of television's most popular shows, even if only for a brief moment.

 SONG OF THE DAY. "War Pigs" - Black Sabbath.

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