Ryan Day’s Ohio State will host Steve Sarkisian’s Texas this Saturday, with the Longhorns riding an 11-game regular-season road winning streak. This will mark Sarkisian’s first trip to Ohio Stadium, and Day has praised the Texas coach for his leadership of the program."I have a tremendous amount of respect for Sark, for his coaching staff, for his players. We're excited to play these guys," Day said. "I think it's gonna give us a great barometer coming out of the first game."Sarkisian called the game between Ohio State and Texas an “epic game”, which is “great for college football” and believes both schools could be rewarded by the playoff committee for participating.Sarkisian had high praise for Day as well.“The fanfare, the excitement around this game, I think is great for our sport," Sark said (via Eleven Warriors). “These are two really good teams. Ton of respect for Ohio State, ton of respect for Ryan Day and the job he’s done."Since 2005, Texas and Ohio State have faced off four times, with the series tied at 2-2. Both schools will be led by new quarterbacks, as Arch Manning takes over for Texas after a few starts in 2024, and Julian Sayin replaces Will Howard for Ohio State.Ryan Day prioritizes player impact over winsRyan Day has led Ohio State to a 45-6 record in four seasons, making the Buckeyes the only program in the country to reach the playoffs three times since 2019. While those numbers are impressive, Day noted that his greatest concern isn’t losing games, it is missing the chance to positively influence his players."That's the No. 1 goal and focus," Day said (via ESPN). "And you have to win in order to continue doing that. It's not about the championships, as much as so many people want to focus on that -- that's just the prerequisite."In 2019, Day became the first Ohio State coach in 40 years to be named Big Ten Conference Coach of the Year.