Ryan Day addresses Ohio State's 2022 expectations: 'We've got a lot to prove'

2021, ultimately was a disappointment at Ohio State. The Buckeyes lost to Michigan and missed the College Football Playoff. Ryan Day, while respected as one of the game’s best coaches, knows that expectations are higher than that for Ohio State. Now, in 2022, expectations are through the roof for the Buckeyes to compete for a national championship.

While speaking to the media, Ryan Day addressed expectations at Ohio State in 2022.

“I think, coming off of last year, there’s no big heads,” Ryan Day said. “I mean, this team is hungry. This team has been hungry, has been gritty, and we gotta go win this first game. And, they know that.”

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“So, there’s no big heads on this time right now. We’ve got a lot to prove.”

Later, Ryan Day was asked about blocking out outside noise. In particular, when many people think Ohio State is a team with national championship potential, how do you keep that outside noise from affecting you?

“We don’t talk about any of those types of things because that’s not what the focus is,” Ryan Day said. “And, the competitive stamina is what we’ve been talking about because we know that at Ohio State, you have to bring it every single week. And, in order to get to reach our goals, where we need to be, we have to bring it every day and every game, and, so, we start looking ahead and lose a day, then we put ourselves at risk. So, focusing on the process, focusing on the day, and making sure that we have the stamina that we need to go win this game.”

Ryan Day set goals for Ohio State

One thing that will always be true is that expectations are high at Ohio State. Ryan Day knows this as well as anyone. He also knows that the Buckeyes didn’t meet a single one of their annual goals in 2021.

“Well, every year the expectations are high,” Ryan Day said during Big Ten Media days. “You know, and that doesn’t change based on what happened the year before. The expectation is to win them all and that’s…just the way it is.”

“So, you know, maybe some places 11-2 with a Rose Bowl victory is a good year. It isn’t at Ohio State. So, our three goals are to beat the team up north, win the Big Ten Championship, and win a national championship. That’s the goal and those three things didn’t happen last year. So, that didn’t change this year, next year, or the year before.”