COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State is the type of team that has talked about four-quarter games without having to actually play them very often, given the talent advantage it usually enjoys.
Not in the 2026 season.
The Buckeyes know their upcoming schedule will require superior late-game execution because of the opponents and how the previous season ended. After a 12-0 start, Ohio State went scoreless in the second half in a Big Ten championship game loss to Indiana, then failed to score in its final two possessions of a CFP quarterfinal loss to Miami.
"We lost two games at the end of the year because of the fourth quarter," wide receiver Brandon Inniss told ESPN. "We didn't finish. That was our fault. We could have won that Miami game. We could have won the Indiana game."
Ohio State entered the postseason at 12-0 with only one game, a 14-7 opening win against Texas, decided by fewer than 18 points. This coming season, the Buckeyes visit Texas in Week 2, visit defending national champion Indiana on Oct. 17, host Oregon and archrival Michigan, and also visit USC and Iowa.
"We're going to have to win games in the fourth quarter this season," coach Ryan Day said. "Look at the schedule that we have. We've got to be really good at that."
The fourth quarter and an NFL-like schedule has been an offseason focus for Ohio State, which returns Heisman Trophy finalist Julian Sayin at quarterback, All-America wide receiver Jeremiah Smith and other standouts but also lost 11 NFL draft picks, including four in the top 11 selections. Linebacker Payton Pierce said finishing games is "all that we're thinking about" during practices and workouts.
"There'll be some confrontations, there'll be some little bit of yelling, a little bit of guys getting after one another, and it's so good for us, because you have to play in the chaos in the fourth quarter, and you've got to have mature guys who are at their very best," linebacker Payton Pierce said. "I think guys are going to be ready this season to go dominate in fourth quarter."
Among them is Sayin, whose impressive regular season as a first-year starter was somewhat overshadowed by Ohio State's early CFP exit. Sayin led the nation by a wide margin in completion rate (7%), finishing with 3,610 passing yards and 32 touchdowns with only eight interceptions.
But a pick-six thrown in the loss to Miami put Ohio State in a 14-0 hole.
"We didn't start the way we wanted to, obviously, but we still had still had an opportunity in the fourth quarter, and I feel like we just didn't play our best," Sayin said. "We all came to Ohio State to be in big-time matchups and be in games that matter, four-quarter games, two-minute drills. So we're all really excited about it, and we've just been building that this offseason."
Ohio State's grinding schedule mirrors those in the NFL, an area where coordinators Matt Patricia and Arthur Smith, both former NFL head coaches, can help. Patricia enters his second year as Ohio State's defensive coordinator after overseeing the nation's top unit in 2025.
Smith, the former Atlanta Falcons coach, enters his first year as Ohio State's offensive coordinator after 15 years in the NFL.
"It's what you want; it should bring out the best in you once you understand what it takes," Smith said. "Preparing guys who want to play in the NFL, the margins are small. Those games, you see it every time you watch that NFL Red Zone, you watch highlights from the NFL, the majority of those games come down to the last couple of minutes. The margins are small.
"That's why we put all this work in now."