Ryan Day's quote about defending national title goes viral

Ohio State is looking to win back-to-back national championships for the first time in program history, but Ryan Day does not feel that the Buckeyes are embarking on a title defense.

Day spoke with reporters at Big Ten media days on Tuesday about the importance of his 2025 Ohio State team forming its own identity. The coach said he does not feel that the Buckeyes are defending a national championship since there is no way to take the 2024 title away from them.

Instead, Day says his players are "looking to attack." 

"The team that we have currently wants to leave their own legacy behind, and they made that clear a week after the national championship game (with) some of the comments that they made," Day said. "We've said it before: We're not defending national champions because we're not defending anything. They can't take the trophy away. We're looking to attack and win a championship with this team."