Penn State's goals for its season have long fallen by the wayside. The Nittany Lions have nothing left but to play spoiler against the Big Ten's best, Ohio State.
That's why Ryan Day carried a serious tone when talking about Penn State in his weekly press conference on Tuesday. The Buckeyes are expecting the unexpected vs. a team with a "nothing-to-lose mentality" and Day believes the game will once more be a "battle" between two teams that have played each other very close so many times in the recent past.
Along the offensive line, Day said that Joshua Padilla has clearly emerged as Ohio State's sixth lineman. Day also said that Ohio State's run game has been good but not great, among myriad other topics discussed during his press conference.
- Day began his press conference by offering his condolences to the families of Nick Mangold and Bob Maggs. Day said both former players had "major impacts" on the Ohio State program and that the Buckeyes will hold a moment of silence for them at the Penn State game.
- Day said he and his coaching staff have told the team it needs to take Penn State seriously despite its record. "I don't think there are many teams in the country that have more talent than Penn State has. Sure, (the season) hasn't gone the way they wanted it to, but that doesn't change that they still have really good players. When you looked at this game a few months ago, it was an absolute matchup game. That has not changed. It's still the same players other than the quarterback, and our guys know that, they understand that. They know that it's about us; it's not about our opponent.
- Day said Penn State will come to Columbus with "a nothing to lose mentality," so Ohio State will "have to be on high alert at all times for things." Day said the Nittany Lions had two weeks to prepare for the Buckeyes, so they "expected the unexpected" entering Saturday.
- Joshua Padilla was described as Ohio State's sixth offensive lineman by Day. The team is still evaluating how they’ll split reps at right guard vs. Penn State between Tegra Tshabola and Padilla.
- Ryan Day confirmed that he visited The MAIZE at Little Darby Creek this past weekend. The MAIZE is shaped like him. "I've read a lot of things on the internet, AI, that are not true, so I would say that it's hitting about 20 percent. But that actually is true."
- While Ryan Day did The MAIZE, he passed on "The HAUNT." "Although I did a couple of years ago, and we were going through 'The HAUNT,' and it's quite an experience, and at one point somebody with a mask jumps out and they're right here and they're like, 'Coach Day?'" Day said with a laugh. "I was like, 'Man, I got to get the heck out of here.' I said, 'I'm gonna pass this year, and let the kids do it,' and Nina and I waited."
- Day said that Ohio State's run game has been "good" but not "great" and that they attacked what they see as the deficiencies in the run game, particularly overall execution in run blocking.
- Ryan Day thinks Larry Johnson, James Laurinaitis, Tim Walton, Matt Guerrieri deserve more recognition for their part in defense’s success. “Jim (Knowles) did a great job, Matt (Patricia)’s doing a great job but what’s the common denominator? The (other) coaches and the players.”
- On Jim Knowles’ Penn State defense: “We know he’ll have some curveballs, he always does. So we’ll just have to identify those and go from there.”
- On how he's kept Ohio State focused all year off a national championship: “The first thing about football is, you only have so many opportunities. ... Continuing to do it week-in and week-out, that’s the message. Nothing easy ... but it all comes down to the way we train. ... There’s nothing magical about it. ... Nothing’s changing. It’s a society that wants something new, wants something flashy, but it’s those things.”
- On Kayden McDonald: “Great defenses are built from inside-out, and he’s a big part of our defense. ... The excited thing is, he’s not tapped out, and he’s been huge for us. ... He has
- On his and the program’s relationship with Knowles: “Like any relationship, when it breaks off, sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad. ... He did a great job while he was here. ... It was abrupt, but we certainly appreciate the job he did while he was here.”
- Despite the coaching carousel and outside distractions, Day said his team has an ability to lock in on Penn State, given it’s been a “battle” the past few games. “I think we have the ability to focus on this game.” Day added he expects another war on Saturday and wants a raucous home environment.
- On the advice he’s given his players now that it’s legal for college players to bet on pro sports: “Every year we have a huge talk about gambling. ... That’s a huge part of this game that’s changed.” Day added that the team has posted articles for players to view about people whose lives have been ruined and athletes that have been banned due to gambling.
