Ohio State Buckeyes' Ryan Day Reveals 'Synergy' During Rose Bowl vs. Oregon Ducks

Exiting the 2025 season, it's become clear that the Oregon Ducks have found a new competitive rival in the Ohio State Buckeyes. From the nail-biting 32-31 win at Autzen Stadium in October, to the devastating 41-21 loss at the 2025 Rose Bowl in January, these two powerhouse programs had some landmark meetings.

Buckeyes coach Ryan Day recently sat down with college football analyst Josh Pate on "Josh Pate's College Football Show" to discuss Ohio State's national championship season and the Rose Bowl against the Ducks.

"Going into the Rose Bowl and that now is kind of all coming together here," Day told Pate of his teams' energy aligning for their blowout of Oregon. "You get like a ten day window to start to prepare which is a great amount of time, I think, because as a head coach you get a little more time to work on the X's and O's, which is a lot of fun. We were able to tweak some things along the way."

Jan 1, 2025; Pasadena, CA, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day celebrates after defeating the Oregon Ducks in the 2025 Rose Bowl college football quarterfinal game at Rose Bowl Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Day also pointed to meetings the team had with a friend of the coach to spur up a winning mentality.

"We had a good friend of ours who was a Navy Seal who we spent some time with, Clint Bruce, talk about how in hostage rescue, when you walk into a room someone goes right, you go left. Someone goes up, you go down," Day said to Pate. "He was explaining that when things are all in motion, and everyone is moving in the right spots - everything is going together just right, he says 'I would feel bad for the enemy.'"

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Jan 1, 2025; Pasadena, CA, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day speaks in a press conference after defeating the Oregon Ducks in the 2025 Rose Bowl college football quarterfinal game at Rose Bowl Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

"There was a point in that game where I felt like that was the case," Day continued. "Everything was just right. Everyone was moving right. You could feel that synergy as a team in your preparations, your walk throughs, the way we traveled, the way the guys handled the media. And, as we got on the field, you could just feel that confidence."

The hunch Day had about Ohio State's confidence proved true, with the Buckeyes almost putting up double of Oregon's total yards for the game (500 total yards compared to Oregon's 276; the Ducks ended the contest with negative 23 rushing yards). The Buckeyes held an early lead, almost entirely shutting the Ducks out of the first half. Though Oregon tried to bounce back with a couple of latetouchdowns, the Buckeyes sealed the Ducks' fate for the College Football Playoff.

Freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, who entered the Rose Bowl with a chip on his shoulder about one-on-one man coverage from the Ducks in their previous meeting, put up two touchdowns and 161 yards in that fateful first half.

Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (4) celebrates a first down catch during the second half of the College Football Playoff quarterfinal against the Oregon Ducks at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. on Jan. 1, 2025. Ohio State won 41-21. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In the same Pate interview, Day also reflected on the words he had for his players regarding the Buckeyes' bout against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish for the National Championship title.

"These guys, they don't want to leave without anything to show for all their hard work," Day said to Pate. "The truth of it all was, if you don't win this National Championship game, nobody cares. And you have nothing to show for anything. Like, Jack Sawyer's interception in the rivalry game was one of the greatest plays I've been apart of. No one will ever talk about it because we lost the game."

Though the Michigan rivalry game is one Day wishes to get back, the Buckeyes got the last laugh over Oregon en route to winning the 2025 National Championship.