Ohio State Makes Matt Patricia, Arthur Smith Available Tuesday: What It Could Mean

Ohio State's Tuesday news conference usually belongs to Ryan Day. This week, he will have company.

According to Ohio State's media schedule for Tuesday, which went out Sunday night, defensive coordinator Matt Patricia and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith will both be available to reporters alongside Day as the Buckeyes begin preparing for Northwestern. Neither coordinator has spoken at Ohio State's Tuesday news conferences this season.

Nobody at Ohio State has said why the format is changing, and it may turn out to mean very little. But the timing, two days after a 41-28 home loss to Oregon and on the same day Michigan fired its offensive coordinator, is going to invite questions. What follows is Undrafted's analysis of what it could signal. It is speculation, not reporting, and every scenario below should be read that way.

Why This Stands Out

In past seasons under Day, putting the coordinators in front of reporters on Tuesdays was routine. In 2022, for example, Jim Knowles and Kevin Wilson joined Day for Tuesday sessions during game weeks.

That has not been the case in 2026. Patricia and Smith have not been part of the Tuesday news conferences this season, and their appearances have come in other settings: Smith after a Wednesday practice on Sept. 30, according to Ohio State Athletics, and both during the open week after the win at Indiana, according to The-Ozone. During Oregon week, the school's Wednesday availability featured Day and three players, with neither coordinator.

So putting both of them at the podium on a Tuesday, in the middle of a game week and right after back-to-back losses, is a break from how Ohio State has handled things all season.

How Ohio State Got Here

Ohio State is 6-3 and 4-2 in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes lost 24-23 at Texas in September, then went 0-2 with true freshman Luke Fahey at quarterback after Julian Sayin's shoulder injury at Indiana: 30-18 at USC on Halloween and 41-28 to Oregon on Saturday, when a 14-0 lead turned into 38 straight Oregon points.

Both sides of the ball have been part of it. Against Oregon, the offense ran for 53 yards and went 0 for 4 on fourth down. Against USC, it outgained the Trojans 464 to 338 and still scored one touchdown. The defense, which had allowed more than 20 points only once before Los Angeles, has given up 30 and 41 in the two games since.

Day has not ducked it. "To lose three games is unacceptable, and I own that," he said after Saturday's loss. "There needs to be accountability for all of it." Before the Oregon game, he told reporters, "Everybody understands that our backs are up against the wall here."

We broke down the bigger picture earlier Sunday in What Went Wrong at Ohio State.

What It Could Mean

Here are the readings we think are worth considering, from most to least likely in our view. None of them has been confirmed by anyone at Ohio State.

Accountability, in public. The simplest explanation is that Day meant what he said. If he wants the people running each side of the ball to answer for it, the most visible way to do that is to put them at the podium the week the criticism is loudest. Under this reading, Tuesday is about showing that the staff is facing the questions together, not about anyone's job.

A chance to explain the plan. Smith has drawn most of the outside criticism, and Patricia's defense has slipped from where it was a year ago. Putting both in front of reporters gives each a chance to explain what went wrong and what changes for the stretch run, in their own words, before the noise grows any louder.

A sign of a change in roles. This is the most speculative possibility. If Ohio State were adjusting who does what, such as Day taking a larger hand in the offense, Tuesday would be a natural place to explain it. Day called Ohio State's plays for years before handing that job to Chip Kelly in 2024, so it would not be unfamiliar ground. To be clear, there is no reporting that any change is coming.

Simply routine. It is also possible this means nothing at all. It could be a return to the way Ohio State has handled media in the past, a response to reporter requests after a rough two weeks, or a scheduling choice. Programs rarely put a coordinator in front of cameras right before moving on from him, so if anything, this arguably points away from an immediate staff change.

The Michigan Backdrop

It is hard to ignore what happened in Ann Arbor on Sunday. Michigan fired offensive coordinator Jason Beck a day after a 15-6 loss to Michigan State, a move that could cost the Wolverines up to about $10 million, as we laid out in Michigan's $5.7 million coordinator bet.

Ohio State and Michigan meet in Columbus on Nov. 28, and the comparison will follow both programs until then. But the situations are different. Michigan's offense ranks near the bottom of FBS. Ohio State's offense looked fine for seven weeks with Sayin at quarterback, and its problems since have come with a freshman starter who had thrown 13 college passes before his first start.

What to Watch Tuesday

Who is calling plays. Any question about whether Smith keeps play-calling duties, and how directly Day answers it, will be the most closely watched moment of the day.

How Patricia explains the big plays. Ohio State has given up explosive plays in both losses, including touchdowns of 69 and 70 yards at USC and a 48-yard Dierre Hill Jr. run against Oregon. How he describes the fixes will say a lot about how the staff sees the problem.

The quarterback plan. Fahey has started both losses, and Tavien St. Clair competed with him during the open week. Any shift in that plan, or any update on Sayin, would matter for the rest of the season.

The tone. Whether the three sound aligned, or whether anyone frames the last two weeks differently than Day has, may tell us more than any single answer.

Whether it happens again. If the coordinators are back at the podium next Tuesday before Nebraska, this looks like a new policy. If not, Tuesday was a one-time response to a bad week.

Ohio State hosts Northwestern on Saturday, Nov. 14, goes to Nebraska on Nov. 21 and finishes with Michigan at Ohio Stadium on Nov. 28. Tuesday will not settle much on its own, but it will be the first time this season that the two men running Ohio State's offense and defense answer for it together at the weekly news conference.

This is an analysis piece. The scenarios above are Undrafted's speculation and should not be read as reporting. Sources: Ohio State Athletics, The-Ozone, Sports Illustrated, the Associated Press, ESPN, Land-Grant Holy Land and Eleven Warriors. More Ohio State coverage on Undrafted.