Ryan Day faces mentor Chip Kelly as Ohio State tries to end skid

Ryan Day has spent nearly 30 years learning from Chip Kelly and has never coached against him. That changes in Columbus, where Kelly arrives as Northwestern's offensive coordinator to face the Ohio State program he helped to the 2024 national title. Both teams are 6-3, and both come in on two-game losing streaks.

Ohio State's slide is unusual by its standards. Losses to USC and Oregon, the second a 41-28 home defeat, were its first back-to-back regular-season losses since 2011, and Matt Patricia's defense gave up 21 explosive plays across the two games. Julian Sayin is out indefinitely with an elbow injury, so true freshman Luke Fahey makes his third straight start. At 4-2 in the Big Ten, the Buckeyes' hopes of reaching the conference title game are slim.

Northwestern has its own quarterback problem. Aidan Chiles, who leads the Big Ten in completion rate and has accounted for 23 touchdowns, is ruled out for a second straight game with an upper-body injury. West Virginia transfer Nicco Marchiol started in his place in a 24-10 loss to Iowa. Under Kelly, the Wildcats have lifted their scoring from 23.4 points per game in 2025 to 31.0.

History leans one way: Northwestern has not won at Ohio Stadium since 1971, and this is its first trip there since 2016. The market gives Ohio State an 84% chance. With both starting quarterbacks sidelined and the Buckeyes searching for answers, is that too much faith in a team that has lost two straight?