The 2025 season has finally come to an end after a historic Indiana run, bolstering the Big 10’s dominance. Now it’s time to reflect, regroup, and reclaim what may have been left out in 2025. To do that, Ryan Day is offering some self-reflection, demoting his team in the recent coaches poll, and also grading rivals like Michigan.

The Ohio State head coach ranked Indiana first, as did all other coaches, followed by Miami. The third spot on Day’s list is Ole Miss, and Oregon trails behind at 4th. As for his own team, Ohio State, the head coach gave it a modest 5th place, despite just two losses. Although it’s understandable since all the teams ahead of Ohio State in Day’s rankings cruised past him in the playoffs.

Overall, Ohio State got a 6th rank in the coaches poll, similar to what the AP Poll graded the team. As for Michigan, Day ranked the ‘team up north’ a lowly 23rd. Likewise, Kyle Whittingham’s team finished in 22nd position overall. When compared to the AP Poll, Michigan is ranked 21st and received just 276 points overall. The Wolverines had a blowout loss against Ohio State and finished 9-4 in the 2025 season.

Going by Day’s analysis of his own performance, it appears redemption is in the pipeline for the Buckeyes in the 2026 season.

“At the end of the day, we didn’t get it done. That starts with me and goes down from there. I take responsibility for not getting the guys ready,” Day said after the Cotton Bowl loss against Miami. “We gotta figure out why that was and learn from it moving forward. We’ve gotta take a hard look at that and figure out what it is that we gotta get done to get better.”

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As for the other teams on Day’s top-10 list, the head coach ranked Georgia 6th, followed by Texas Tech at 7th. Alabama is ranked 8th, whereas Oklahoma is ranked 9th by Ryan Day. At the 10th spot, Ryan Day kept Texas A&M, which lost its CFP first-round game against Miami after losing the chance to play the SEC championship game when they lost to Texas.

Ryan Day has, in recent years, maintained a similar ‘self-introspection’ strategy for his team. Despite just two losses coming Ohio State’s way in the 2023 season, Day graded his team at a lowly 9th spot in the coaches’ poll. Only in the 2019 and 2024 seasons did the head coach keep his team in the first spot.

It was understandable, too. Day won the Natty in 2024, whereas 2019 was his first season as OSU’s head coach. And the team reached the playoff semifinals, losing to Clemson. Now, moving into the 2026 season, Day has finally upped the ante to make a solid comeback.

Ryan Day is using a unique strategy to rebuild his 2026 squad

Ohio State, before facing Indiana in the Big 10 championship game, was cruising undefeated and later fell to Miami in the playoff quarterfinal after earning a bye. Interestingly, the program suffered significant attrition following the loss, and more than 33 OSU players entered the portal. Many thought Ryan Day had a monumental task considering the exodus. But the head coach always had a plan.

“We all know what needs to be done here. When you look at the guys that we have returning and the guys who we are bringing in from the portal, we feel strong about it,” Day said on January 15. “We still have some work to do here down the stretch, but we’ve got a good combination of older players who are back, portal guys, and young, really talented players.”

Ryan Day used a combination of portal players and keeping NFL draft-eligible players to offset the attrition. The head coach has brought in more than 16 transfer portal players and kept 7 of his NFL draftees in Columbus for the 2026 season. The key returners include WR Brandon Inniss, LT Austin Siereveld, LG Luke Montgomery, and Center Carson Hinzman.

It’s a solid rebuild strategy by the OSU head coach, who has lost key players like Caleb Downs, Kayden McDonald, Arvell Reese, and Carnell Tate to the 2026 NFL Draft. Additionally, players like WR Quincy Porter, Mylan Graham, and RB James Peoples switched camps, ditching Ohio State. Combined with Day’s self-introspection and his solid work in rebuilding his squad, 2026 seems like the Buckeyes’ year after all.