No. 4 Ohio State travels to No. 3 Penn State on Saturday in the latest top-five matchup of the 2024 college football season.
It's the second game of such magnitude for the Buckeyes (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten) and a chance to knock the Nittany Lions (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) from the list of remaining unbeaten teams. It's also a chance for both teams to impress the College Football Playoff committee ahead of the first set of rankings on Tuesday, Nov. 5.
During his press conference Tuesday, Ohio State coach Ryan Day said the Buckeyes are excited for the opportunity to be on that top-five stage again. No. 1 Oregon beat Ohio State 32-31 on Oct. 12.
"It's time to go win this game and get a top-five victory," Day said. "That is what the guys are focused on right now, the coaching staff, everybody in the building is focused on winning this game right here."
For Day, that statement rings true. The Ohio State coach is held to an almost unfair standard,, but that is life at one of the top programs in the FBS.
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Ryan Day record against top five teams
Day is 2-6 against top-five teams, and the Buckeyes have lost four consecutive top-five matchups under Day.
In the regular season, the Buckeyes are 1-3, with a pair of losses to Michigan the past two seasons, plus the loss to No. 3 Oregon this year. The lone victory was a 21-10 win at home against No. 5 Notre Dame to open the 2022 season.
In the College Football Playoff, the Buckeyes are also 1-3. The Buckeyes lost to No. 3 Clemson 29-23 on Dec. 28, 2019, but they got revenge the following season against No. 2 Clemson in a 49-28 victory. No. 1 Alabama beat No. 3 Ohio State 52-24 in the 2021 CFP championship game, and No. 1 Georgia beat No. 4 Ohio State 42-41 on Dec. 31, 2022.
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Ryan Day record against top 10 teams
Day is 10-8 against top-10 teams at Ohio State. That is the same record against top-10 teams that former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel had from 2001-10.
Day, however, is more closely compared to Urban Meyer, who was 13-4 in top-10 games and 6-2 in top-five games at Ohio State from 2012-18. Meyer's big-game reputation still resonates in Columbus.
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Ryan Day vs. top-10 teams
| DATE | OPPONENTS | RESULT |
| Nov. 23, 2019 | vs. 9 Penn State | W 28-17 |
| Nov. 30, 2019 | at No. 10 Michigan | W 56-27 |
| Dec. 7, 2019 | vs. No. 10 Wisconsin | W 34-21 |
| Dec. 28, 2019 | vs. No. 3 Clemson* | L 29-23 |
| Nov. 21, 2020 | vs. No. 9 Indiana | W 42-35 |
| Jan. 1, 2021 | vs. No. 2 Clemson* | W 49-28 |
| Jan. 11, 2021 | vs. No. 1 Alabama* | L 52-24 |
| Nov. 20, 2021 | vs. No. 7 Michigan State | W 56-7 |
| Nov. 27, 2021 | at No. 6 Michigan | L 42-27 |
| Jan. 1, 2022 | vs. No. 10 Utah* | W 48-45 |
| Sept. 3, 2022 | vs. No. 5 Notre Dame | W 21-10 |
| Nov. 26, 2022 | vs. No. 3 Michigan | L 45-23 |
| Dec. 31, 2022 | vs. No. 1 Georgia* | L 42-41 |
| Sept. 23, 2023 | at No. 9 Notre Dame | W 17-14 |
| Oct. 21, 2023 | vs. No. 7 Penn State | W 20-12 |
| Nov. 25, 2023 | at No. 3 Michigan | L 30-24 |
| Dec. 29, 2023 | vs. No. 9 Missouri | L 14-3 |
| Oct. 12, 2024 | at No. 3 Oregon | L 32-31 |
| Nov. 2, 2024 | at No. 3 Penn State | TBD |
Ryan Day record at Ohio State
Ryan Day has a 62-9 record at Ohio State – a winning percentage of .873. That is the best winning percentage among active FBS coaches. Georgia's Kirby Smart is 100-17 with an .855 winning percentage.
Day has led Ohio State to three College Football Playoff appearances, two Big Ten championships and a CFP championship game appearance in 2020. Ohio State is 44-0 against unranked teams under Day, and 18-9 against top-25 teams. Day also is 41-4 in Big Ten play.
Yet it's those matchups against the best-of-the-best in college football that have put some pressure on Day heading into the matchup against the Nittany Lions.
Ryan Day record against Penn State, Michigan
Ohio State is 5-0 against Penn State under Day, and the Buckeyes have won those games by an average of 10.8 points per game. That includes two top-10 showdowns and five consecutive games where both teams were ranked.
Day is 1-3 against Michigan. That has become his albatross. The Wolverines have won the last three meetings, last three Big Ten championships and won the national championship in 2023. Meyer was 7-0 against the Wolverines. That has increased the or-else feel about the Buckeyes' matchup against Michigan on Nov. 30.
Ryan Day coaching record by year
Day took over as head coach at Ohio State in 2019. He was the Buckeyes' acting coach in 2018 when Meyer served a three-game suspension.
| YEAR | W | L | W | L |
| 2018 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2019 | 13 | 1 | 9 | 0 |
| 2020 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| 2021 | 11 | 2 | 8 | 1 |
| 2022 | 11 | 2 | 8 | 1 |
| 2023 | 11 | 2 | 8 | 1 |
| 2024 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| TOTALS | 62 | 9 | 41 | 4 |
