With Ohio State's 34-16 win over Illinois, the Buckeyes improved to 6-0. Ryan Day loved a lot of what he saw from his team on Saturday. However, if Ohio State wants to accomplish its goals this season, the head coach said his players need to continue to play with the same energy and poise they showed for three and a half quarters against the Illini.
"I thought we played well there in toward the end of the third, into the fourth, and then we took our foot off the pedal a little bit and lost our focus," Day said. "But it’s a good sign when you have to go into a locker room after a win like this and make sure everyone understands what a great win it was because I think we all felt like we left a little bit on the field.”
Day broke down his team's performance in more detail during a brief press conference after the game. Here's a bullet-point recap of the session:
Ryan Day
- When asked his opinion on whether Ohio State had a slow start against Illinois, Day said, “I don’t know if it’s a slow start. A slow start would probably be two three-and-outs. I feel like we did start fast. We didn’t quite convert down there the first drive, but I thought on the road, it was a good first drive. We always want to score touchdowns. But it kind of set the tone."
- Day said Ohio State’s energy and poise were excellent from the opening kickoff until the middle of the fourth quarter. “I thought we did come in with good energy. I liked the way we played early, quite honestly. Was it all perfect? No. But they’re a good team. That’s kind of how it goes. We all expect perfection, including me. I thought we played well there in toward the end of the third, into the fourth, and then we took our foot off the pedal a little bit and lost our focus, but it’s a good sign when you have to go into a locker room after a win like this and make sure everyone understands what a great win it was because I think we all felt like we left a little bit on the field.”
- Day loved Ohio State’s effort on both sides of the ball against Illinois. “I thought the effort was excellent. I liked the look in our eye. The defense created a bunch of turnovers, and when that happens, the chances of winning are gonna be in our favor. On offense, when the ball is in plus-territory the majority of the day like that, certainly, good things are gonna happen.”
- Day reiterated that he felt Ohio State was “in control of the game” against Illinois. “We kind of lost our focus at the end, but a good win on the road against a team we have a lot of respect for.”
- Day said Ohio State still has some stuff to work on in the red zone, but he was pleased with how hard the Buckeyes’ running backs ran between the tackles near the goal line. “There are a lot of plays that we’re gonna want back, but I thought there were a lot of good, physical runs down there where we had to punch the ball in. We did what we had to do to win the game.”
- Day praised Jermaine Mathews Jr. for his performance against Illinois. He said Ohio State asked a lot of him on Saturday, and he met the challenge head-on.
- Day said he was “hopeful” Ohio State will have Lorenzo Styles Jr. back next week.
- When asked what he’s learned about his team this season, Day said, “We keep pushing them about being consistent in their approach, so far, we’ve got that, but it’s a long road. We’re only halfway through the season. The guys we didn’t know about going into the season, they’ve now proven that they belong. Now, what do we want this team to look like as we continue to grow and build? They’re competitive. They’re edgy. They like these types of environments. They want to be great and expect to be great. They expect to win all the time.
- Day continued with his previous answer: “As much as I was on them about growing and maturing, you are seeing a pretty mature group. They’re starting to learn really what it takes. And I think the last thing is — and this is gonna be a challenge for every team in the country, including ours — as time goes on, everyone has expectations when they come into a game, and when they’re not met, it’s easy to start pulling in different directions. That’s selfishness, and I think our guys are very unselfish. They’re coming together as a team, and that’s gonna be one of the things we have to make sure is an advantage for us.”
- On Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate’s unselfishness: “Jeremiah is — I can’t say enough about him and Carnell. In a game like this, we found ourselves down (near the goal line) a lot and ran the ball a lot. They’re into it just like everybody else. They want it to look like last week every week, but when you have a team that understands what needs to get done, that’s when you have a chance to be special. He’s a tough player.”
