The Buckeyes are coming off a dominant performance in what was expected to be the toughest test to date and now face their first ranked opponent of the season when No. 25 Michigan State heads to Columbus this weekend.
Ryan Day made his final weekly media appearances on Thursday, joining 97.1 The Fan for his weekly radio show immediately followed by his typical brief afternoon media availability in the team room.
Here's what Day – joined by linebackers coach Al Washington – had to say during his radio show appearance, as well as during his meeting with the local media on Thursday.
Ryan Day on 97.1 The Fan
On the Nebraska win
- "I thought we came out and played hard."
- Day said he thought they needed to play tougher and prepare better than Nebraska to win, and they did that.
- "I thought we played well in every phase."
Do you need to take addition precautions in the heat?
- We always hydrate and we hydrate test them before practice.
- We take some extra breaks and stuff
- They also use special gatorades to avoid cramps and such, which they call "sweaties."
- They also mention they have cool water they can pump under players' shoulder pads to cool them down.
On the strong defense
- "I think the defensive line and secondary are doing a great job of playing off each other."
- Day explained that the defensive line forces the ball out quick sometimes, and the coverage forces the quarterback to hold the ball too long.
On Nebraska's option looks early
- "Yeah, that caught us off guard for sure."
- Day said Nebraska had momentum and was moving the ball with relative ease.
- "You could feel the crowd, you could see our guys caught a little off guard."
- They called a timeout just to regroup.
On his frantic time out later in the game
- Day said they accidentally had two No. 5s on the field, which is a penalty.
- It was 4th and 3, so it would have given them a first down.
- "I almost tore my achilles getting there."
On Justin Fields running ability
- "He's doing a good job taking care of the ball, for sure."
- Day explained that the guy who should have covered
- "That's a thing you can't coach and what having an athletic quarterback gives you."
On quick starts in the first quarter
- "We talk about how hard we want to play."
- "We think that when we can get up on team and they have to start throwing the ball, that plays into our hand."
- Day points out that they didn't come out to a fast start against Miami, but they handled that.
On Joshua Alabi
- Day praised Alabi for sticking through it and not transferring in the era of the transfer portal.
- "When you're in that situation to say you want to play, it's another thing that when you get in that situation and play well."
- Day mentioned they need their reserves to play well.
On Drue Chrisman
- Day praised how Chrisman is always ready even though he hasn't been getting many opportunities this year.
- Drue had a punt in the second half of the Nebraska game: "That was really the first time he punted in the past two games."
- Day joked with him that he ran the ball on third down just to make sure that Drue Chrisman could get on the field."
On Michigan State
- "They're a very, very well coached team."
- "Dantonio is one of the best coaches in the country over the past decade."
- "They don't give you anything. They make you earn everything."
- "They want to win the Big Ten conference."
- "I think (Brian) Lewerke is playing the best he's played in his career."
- "We were in a dogfight up there last year. They shut us down in the first half."
On the blackout crowd
- Day said it's fun and special for the players.
- "It doesn't really matter what jersey you're wearing, as long as it's an Ohio State jersey, it's special."
Ranking Chase Young against the Bosas
- "I think we'll have to see."
- Day said we can have the conversation after Chase Young finishes this season.
- "It's hard to tell right now, and even to be in the conversation with those guys is an honor."
Linebackers coach Al Washington on 97.1 The Fan
On the flexbone
- "Actually, I was about to get out there."
- "I haven't seen that since I played D-Line."
- "They handled it well, but I think that was the last thing I expected to see."
On facing Michigan State
- Washington said it's important to come to play against Michigan State, but it's more important to be prepared in practice every day.
- "We gotta come correct today.
- "You have to play the game today in your mind."
Ryan Day with the local media
- Will Michigan State pose the toughest test to date for Ohio State's offensive line? "This definitely is the biggest challenge. It's one of the toughest run defenses in the past decade."
- Master Teague has improved his pass protection and route-running, which has allowed him to start to make an impact in the passing game as well as the running game.
- On J.K. Dobbins: "He's been running really, really hard."
- On punter Drue Chrisman: "He's a guy that is very professional about what he does and is very, very serious." Says that's true of all of their specialists, also including kicker Blake Haubeil and long snapper Liam McCullough.
- Day said Master Teague "kind of popped for us" in the Indiana game and has been able to sustain that success so far.
- Day said the Buckeyes roll players at various positions and trust whoever's in the game to be able to do anything they need them to do. In the flow of the game, there isn't time to be thinking about who's on the field.
- On the Big Ten's decision to suspend Nebraska defensive lineman Khalil Davis for one game after an apparent altercation with Josh Myers in the first quarter of Saturday's game, Ryan Day said "there were some things that happened after the whistle on that play." Day said the Buckeyes are in communication with the Big Ten every week about penalties and things they see on film.
