Presser Bullets: Ryan Day Calls Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith’s Injuries “Day-to-Day,” Says the Buckeyes Must “Be At Our Best” and Make Hard Work Pay Off in Rivalry Game

Ryan Day said the Buckeyes always keep the Wolverines in the back of their minds — and the moment the clock hit 0:00 on Saturday, “That Team Up North” moved to the front.

“We know this is the last game of the year and what it means to everybody here," Day said after the Rutgers game. "It doesn’t take long in the fourth quarter once the game was in hand for everybody to start figuring out this thing is coming fast. There was just a good look in everybody's eye in the locker room, man. We're excited about this one.”

Day also offered brief injury updates on Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith, calling both receivers “day-to-day.” He added that the Buckeyes will “have to be at our best” as they prepare for The Game — though, he noted, that expectation doesn’t change from week to week.

• On Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith’s injuries: “The only thing I’ll say really is that they are day-to-day. The staff and those guys are working really hard to get ready to play next week.”
• On Mylan Graham: “He played a little bit, and just when he gets in there, we want him to be consistent and do his job and we’re challenging him to do that and step up in a big way. The more he does that, the more he builds trust, the more opportunities he’ll get.”
• Day said Michigan is “always in the back of our mind.” He added: “We know this is the last game of the year and what it means to everybody here. It doesn’t take long in the fourth quarter once the game was in hand for everybody to start figuring out this thing is coming fast. There was just a good look in everybody's eye in the locker room, man. We're excited about this one.”
• Day continued on Michigan: "Just need to focus on what really matters, and that's everybody doing their job and going on the road in what's gonna be a great environment and going to get it done. That will be the focus. We will continue to do all year:  Have a great week, focus on that day. ... We got to be at our best."
• Day said the work Ohio State has put in all season has to pay off this week against Michigan. “That’s all in preparation for this week. … When we talked about chopping wood and carrying water from the jump, that’s what this was about. It was making sure that we weren’t just saying, ‘Hey, let’s just get to the end of the year and everything that comes with it.’ So now we go.”
• Day continued on Ohio State’s hard work paying off: “All the work that we put in has got to show for us. That will be the focus this week.”
• “The ultimate goal is to win the game. That’s it. We’re gonna do everything we can to win the game based on what we have, and we’ll just go from there.”
• Day said the Buckeyes have to “be at our best” in the rivalry game. That’s just like any other week, Day said.
• Day said Ohio State’s offensive line “did a decent job” against Rutgers. He said there are a few areas where the Buckeyes have to “hit cleaner.”
• Day said Ohio State’s special teams had both good and bad moments against Rutgers. The good? Joe McGuire’s punt downed near the goal line. The bad? Brandon Inniss’ errant throw to James Peoples on a play that could have been explosive for the Buckeyes.