Ryan Day Enjoyed Iowa’s Last-Second Win Over Michigan Just Like the Rest of Buckeye Nation: “That Was Really Impressive”​

By Chase Brown on September 29, 2026 at 1:49 pm @chaseabrown__

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Ryan Day seldom takes his coaching hat off to watch college football on Saturdays, but when he does, he appreciates a Michigan loss like the rest of us — even if he’d rather focus on the Hawkeyes’ victory than the Wolverines’ defeat.
When asked Tuesday if he was able to watch Iowa's last-second win over Michigan and enjoy the “end of a wild game” in college football, Day smiled.
“I did with that one,” he said.
With Ohio State’s road trip to Iowa looming this weekend, the eighth-year head coach quickly moved past the quip and explained what stood out to him about the Hawkeyes’ win.
“I thought it was very typical of an Iowa win, where they’re very comfortable late in the game like that, punting and playing field position and getting the ball back, but you got to give them a lot of credit to go down the field in a two-minute drill. That was very impressive,” he said.

Day learned plenty about Kirk Ferentz’s team from that win, and he’ll make sure his players understand the challenge that awaits them at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday.
“This is a tough-minded group of players and coaches that, you got to give them a lot of credit, going on the road and winning like that,” Day said. “They’re playing well, and they’re gonna have a lot of confidence going into this game, especially coming off of that win.”
Kenyatta Jackson Jr. was also asked Tuesday about Iowa’s comeback win. The Ohio State defensive end focused on what the Wolverines failed to do against the Hawkeyes: play for all 60 minutes.
“Team Up North, they had the game. They did a pretty good job with the run game. I just don’t know exactly what happened in that game,” Jackson said. “But Iowa, they came back, they fought to come back, and they won the game. So with us on Saturday, we just got to play 60 minutes of football. Whether that’s winning, losing or tied up, we just got to play 60 minutes of football.”
Ohio State and Iowa will meet as the No. 5 and No. 14 teams in the AP Poll, respectively. The Buckeyes are currently two-touchdown favorites over the Hawkeyes, with the over/under set at 45.5 points for Saturday’s showdown at Kinnick Stadium.

Jaxbuck said:

They are going to eat him alive

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Yeah, I'm really rooting for him to be QB1, so he can go down in flames in front of NYC fans and NYC press. "Minnesota Nice" they ain't.

OHSportsFan said:

The offense - and I say this collectively from Coach Day to Coach Smith to Julian and Jeremiah (captains) - need to operate with the urgency and efficiency like they need to score 35 points/game this year.

And that may mean doing what they did vs. Illinois scoring on 6 out of only 8 drives they got.

I’m not sure this defense gives much margin for error like last year. You can’t have many throw away plays or missed assignments/reads. And for Julian that means using your feet like he did to keep the chain moving.

Defense was discouraging on Saturday but the offense gave me some hope. Day and Co will need that and more.

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been saying this to my Dad/Brothers/my son in our group chat. stop trying to be something youre not and embrace your strength. THTGDB

Find Carnell Tates replacement.

Tanner said:

Hopefully he's grown up and gotten past his obvious maturity issues. B/c they could use him on paper

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Hopefully it’s not Tressels’ Roy Small dog house.

Out.

Zurp said:

Ha. Not a chance. *ichigan comes out and scores a lot of points and the whole nation says, "Whoa - maybe they really are a good team."
But they aren't - Minnesota just plays the worst game of their season here.

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I don't think their offense is capable enough to all out route even the worst of B1G teams, unless those teams turn the ball over a ton and hand them a bunch of easy points. Which yea, Minnesota is definitely capable of.

buckeyemania11 said:

I've got zero faith in the boat rower to actually pull this off. It'll probably be another sludge fart game with scUM coming out on top with a FG or something in the final minutes.

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Ha. Not a chance. *ichigan comes out and scores a lot of points and the whole nation says, "Whoa - maybe they really are a good team."
But they aren't - Minnesota just plays the worst game of their season here.

We can probably get away with not having him this week but for fucks sake the interior defensive line needs to wake the fuck up

Hopefully he's grown up and gotten past his obvious maturity issues. B/c they could use him on paper

Mike80 said:

Sadly there’s a growing number of idiots doing exactly that.

It sounds like Bey hasn’t totally bought in on the program. Until that happens in Days eyes his playing time won’t increase. Earned, not given.

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It seems like it's a little more complicated than that now. In the pre- portal days, throw down the gauntlet. If a player is a difference maker, those old ways of dealing with player issues seems like it has to be handled more delicately.

Judging by the up and down nature of LB being fluidly moved around the depth chart, it seems like Day is doing exactly that.

I personally hope that they can keep him, because having a explosive player available enhances Day's offense. Something that has been missing since Henderson.