Ohio State football enters Saturday’s home game against Oregon with little margin for error after a second loss of the season dropped the Buckeyes from No. 2 to No. 11 in the Associated Press poll and left them sitting at 12th in the inaugural College Football Playoff rankings released Tuesday night.
The Buckeyes (6-2, 4-1 Big Ten) fell 30-18 at USC last week, a result that complicated their postseason path. A 12th-place CFP ranking would effectively leave Ohio State outside the field if the playoff began today, since a Group of 5 conference team is guaranteed an automatic bid.
Junior linebacker Payton Pierce, one of the team’s captains, said the stakes have changed the mood inside the Columbus program.
“It’s pretty much playoff time now for us cuz we can’t lose,” Pierce said. “And so there’s a sense of urgency, and intensity, and focus.”
Pierce said the message starts with head coach Ryan Day, who has pushed the team to play without hesitation the rest of the way.
“We gotta go — leave it all on the field,” Pierce said. “There’s no stepping back, no regrets. Guys gotta go out there and let it rip.”
Several players pointed to a lack of effort during the loss to USC. Safety Jaylen McClain raised the issue first in postgame interviews in Los Angeles, and linebacker Christian Alliegro said film review on Sunday confirmed those concerns.
Running back Isaiah West described the mood around the Columbus facility as “heavy” this week, though he said the team remains confident.
“The playoffs have started early for us,” West said. “If we win, we continue. If we lose, we put ourselves in a really bad spot, so the sense of urgency is at an all-time high.”
Day’s Ohio State teams have rarely lost more than one game before the final week of the season during his eight years in charge. The closest comparison came two years ago, when the Buckeyes lost 13-10 to Michigan, then regrouped over three weeks before a dominant win over Tennessee launched a four-game run to the CFP national championship.
“He’s had a great message this week, and we know what’s at stake so we’re just taking it one day at a time right now,” Pierce said.
Ohio State’s opponent Saturday, Oregon (5-3, 3-2 Big Ten), opened the season ranked No. 2 but has already lost three games. The Ducks rallied last week to beat Northwestern, a result that moved them to No. 23 in the CFP rankings, though they remain outside the AP Top 25.
Day acknowledged the pressure building on his team as the schedule continues with Oregon, followed by Northwestern, Nebraska and Michigan.
“As we go through the season, we’re growing, we’re building,” Day said. “We’re building some momentum, and then we had this game at USC. If we don’t learn our lesson from this game right here, there’s gonna be a lot of regret in that locker room. So the urgency has gotta be as high as it’s ever been, and everybody has to understand what’s at stake here moving forward.”
Day added that responsibility for conveying that message falls on both the coaching staff and the team’s veteran leaders.
“It’s the coach’s job to make sure they understand that, and it’s the leaders’ job who’ve been around here before, that have played here before, that know what it’s like to make sure that they’re relaying that message as well,” Day said.
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