Ryan Day sends stark warning on Buckeyes' mentality entering November

In the state of college football, meaningful football doesn't start up until November where the playoffs and conference title hopes are on the line.

That's the exact mindset that Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day and his team have rolling into the final five games of the regular season. Day and his program understand that the first two months of the season have been leading up to the month that can make or break their season.

“The great players and the great coaches sustain throughout the season. We’re just getting started. This is like the start of the season. Here we are. We’re in November.”

Last year, the Buckeyes were dominant primarily in November, winning three games by two or more possessions, while also beating number three Penn State in Happy Valley. Their only loss was unranked Michigan at the end of the season. As fans now know, it did not hurt them too badly, as they still made a run to a national championship, something the Wolverines were unable to do.

Ohio State enters the back stretch of the season as the number one team in the nation, with a 7-0 record. Their schedule isn't exactly daunting, with the only ranked opponent being the Michigan Wolverines, ranked 21st, entering Week 10 action.

The Buckeyes have to start first with a showdown against Penn State before taking on Purdue, UCLA, and Rutgers. Ohio State closes out with the Wolverines game that could determine their playoff seeding.

It has been a powerful run for Ohio State so far this season, with only one game decided by seven points or fewer, and that was at the beginning of the year against the Texas Longhorns. The storyline has been the defense, which has allowed 10 or more points in a game just once, against Illinois, and has shut out two opponents on the schedule.

The mindset is correct for Ohio State as they still have a long road ahead between the five regular season games, the potential Big Ten title, and the College Football Playoff run. All that doesn't happen, though, if they don't win in November, when they play the most games in the season.

With the current schedule, if the Buckeyes lose even one game, it could be the difference between securing the top seed in the playoffs and potentially being eliminated from the postseason, instead being relegated to a meaningless bowl game.