Millions will watch ESPN's first College Football Playoff rankings show on Tuesday night. Ryan Day will not be one of them.
During his weekly press conference, the Ohio State head coach said this week's rankings do not matter to him – only the final set when the year is over. And after conference championship week to see who the Buckeyes' first opponent will be.
Day also updated Ohio State's trio of injuries at offensive guard that occurred at the end of the Penn State game, saying two will be healthy this week, though he didn't specify which ones. The coach also felt his tight ends took a step against the Nittany Lions, saying they had their best week as blockers.
- Ryan Day said he's not worried about individual stats for awards. He's glad when they come naturally, but doesn't want any distractions. "Just win the game, that's it."
- On James Peoples' handful of good plays in the second half: "I saw somebody who has been practicing better and had a good run, broke a couple tackles, showed some energy."
- On Julian Sayin: "He's made some tremendous throws, made some good decisions, taken care of the football." Day added that, like everyone on the team, Sayin has to keep growing even with the gaudy numbers he's put up so far. "He's just getting started. ... The confidence and the decision-making, it's exciting to be around that."
- Day said that two of three offensive linemen who were hurt between Luke Montgomery, Tegra Tshabola and Joshua Padilla. The third will be a game-time decision. Day didn't specify which was which.
- On his expectation for the College Football Playoff rankings Tuesday night: "I hope nobody on our team pays attention to it ... it doesn't matter. ... It does not matter. At all. Just keep winning, man."
- Day feels Tshabola has taken steps at right guard in response to some competition for his job at right guard in Padilla. "Was it all perfect, no, but was it better, yes. ... It's about consistency with Tegra, because we know he can do it."
- On why good teams have struggled at Purdue's Ross-Ade Stadium in the past: "They're well-coached ... put the film on and watch them play last week. ... I don't know that there's anything different (about playing there) other than there's a lot of pride in that program."
- While Day cares whether his players obtain individual accolades, but it's never going to be a priority to chase. "Everything matters ... so, yeah. But I think that's just a byproduct of winning and having success as a group. ... All those things do matter. But on the priority list of things? No, they're not very high."
- On why Sayin is so good at deep passes: "Each throw has its own feel to it, and a big part of it's the receivers. ... But I don't think it takes a genius to figure out that the kid has tremendous anticipation and touch and a strong arm. ... He's got a great feel for it, it's called spatial awareness, understanding how a receiver is going to run his route."
- On the clip of him yelling "got him" as Carnell Tate broke open for a 57-yard reception: "That one in particular, we hadn't practiced all week, we put that in at halftime. ...When we got what we wanted pre-snap, we knew what was going on. ... Carnell ran a tremendous route ... but yeah, that is the fun part of coaching, when you put something together and it goes the way you want it to go. ... You gotta credit Julian, protection was great."
- Day added that it's only a few times a year that Ohio State adds a play at halftime like that.
- There might be some permutations for big games during the week, but overall, Ohio State tries to keep the same routine every game. "If we have too many things in a week that are different, then it gets you out of your routine, so we try to have different things in our routine that don't change."
- Day paid compliments to Bo Jackson: "We really need him to play his best football down the stretch ... but he has shown consistency."
- On how Max Klare has grown as a blocker: "Max has a lot of talent. I think one of the best things for Max is, being at Ohio State, he's challenged every day. ... He's getting better each week, and I think his best football is still ahead of him, which is exciting. ... I think the tight ends had their best week of blocking, probably, as a group."
- Day said his first few years at Ohio State he was saying "this is crazy," but after a few years switched to "this is the job." "You can work all day and feel like you got nothing done. ... It's been seven years of a lot adaption."
