Entering Week 12 of the college football season, the Ohio State football program is set to face Northwestern. If they can get a win, they'll be just two wins away from making the Big Ten Championship game and the College Football Playoff. However, that hasn't been the focal point for Ohio State fans recently, their kickoff times have been, and that sparked some comments from head coach Ryan Day.

The root of the issue comes as fans have given backlash regarding Ohio State ending its regular season with six straight noon games.

“Well, listen. I gotta deal with a lot of fan backlash for things other than the times of games, so I'm gonna leave that for other people to deal with. I got other things I got to deal with,” said Day.

“Whenever they tell us to play, we're gonna play. It doesn't matter where it is — it could be on a baseball field, it could be 11 a.m., it could be at night. We're gonna put the football down and go play. I'll worry about the team.”

Ohio State football looking for a strong finish to 2024

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This season is all or nothing for the Buckeyes, they need to win the National Championship or it was all for nothing. A big step to doing that, though, would be winning the Big Ten. As of Week 11, though, the Buckeyes would not be in the Big Ten Championship, sitting at third in the conference. The two teams they're behind? Undefeated Oregon and undefeated Indiana.

Luckily for Ohio State, they still control their own destiny. In addition to facing Northwestern, the Buckeyes' two other remaining opponents are Indiana and Michigan. Since they play Indiana, if the Buckeyes win, they'll take their spot in the conference championship game. If they don't, though, it would likely mean they are out.

If the Buckeyes end up missing the Big Ten Championship Game, that doesn't mean their National Championship hopes are gone, though. At 10-2 (Assuming they only lose to Indiana in this situation), the Buckeyes would be in a position to earn an at-large spot in the playoff, though it would likely be an 8-11 seed range.