COLUMBUS — Ohio State head coach Ryan Day will meet with reporters today at noon to look back at the game against Florida Atlantic and look ahead to Saturday’s matchup with the University of Cincinnati Bearcats. We will have live updates here throughout his media sessions, so refresh for updates once the festivities get underway right around 12:00 pm.
+ Cincinnati’s defense will do things they have shown before. They know that.
+ Making in-game adjustments is the most difficult thing about coaching during a game for the head coach. He trusts Kevin Wilson and Mike Yurcich to help him out.
+ Justin Fields is comfortable under center. They’ll continue to work on it. The quarterback-center exchange is not overblown. Any time they had a fumbled exchange in camp they had to run a lap together.
+ You don’t want to be too down on the guys after a win, but there were players who didn’t play up to the Ohio State standard and they need to fix that.
+ Demario McCall was solid on returns. Just missed a big return to start the game. There were a couple of punts that he probably could have gotten to. “We lost some yardage on that.” His number one job was ball security, and he did that. He was solid but he can do better too.
+ Have to get used to quarterbacks transferring. It’s the nature of the position.
+ Day has talked to Chip Kelly since their game against UC, but didn’t talk too much about the game. There were more important things to talk about at the time, mostly about how they’re both doing and how the teams were doing.
+ Day’s favorite play from Justin Fields was a throwaway on third and eight because it showed he understands the importance of not forcing the ball.
+ Asked what stalled the game, Day said there we some plays that stopped momentum, including an offensive pass interference and then a fumble and some holding calls.
+ The team was flying high in the first quarter, which shows what the team is capable of and the guys know it. Now they have to sustain it.
+ Chase Young is a strong presence and a strong personality. On the field he backed it up.
+ Day admitted he tried to keep the under-the-center stuff under wraps, but it’s out there now after one game. Justin Fields and Josh Myers have done a good job with that.
+ Day isn’t displeased with JK Dobbins’ play, but he can’t put the ball on the ground.
+ Ohio State will need to play a full 60 minutes against Cincinnati. “We have to make sure we’re putting our pedal to the metal.” UC just beat a Pac 12 team with a coaching staff that he has a lot of respect for.
+ The use of the extra tight end against Florida Atlantic was partly a matchup thing against a defense that they thought it would work against. Sometimes it will be an H instead of a second tight end.
+ Day knows a good amount about Luke Fickell after looking back on his time at Ohio State on the field as a player, as a coach, and off the field in the community with charities.
+ Justin Fields brings a different skill set to the red zone offense. But last week, they just went big and physical with extra tight ends. They’ll use Fields in the red zone moving forward, but being able to do both is a good advantage to have.
+ Day didn’t like the hits that Justin Fields took during the game. He made good decisions, save for one sack that could have been thrown away while running to the sideline. There are times he will need to be physical, but he’s also got to learn that this is a long season.
+ UC running back Michael Warren is a very tough runner. You don’t prepare any different for tough runners, but you do want to know what their strengths and weaknesses are. Warren gets stronger as the game goes on, so there needs to be second and third tacklers around the ball.
+ Ryan Day has had some conversations with Luke Fickell, but doesn’t know him all that well.
+ Cincinnati is well-coached and disciplined. They are veterans and they play hard.
+ The OSU roster is full right now at running back, so they don’t have room for another running back in recruiting. But they will always recruit running backs. They have five RBs and that’s all they can have in terms of the 85 and making sure the other positions aren’t shortchanged.
+ Master Teague ran well. Unfortunately he’s been out for much of the spring and preseason, so he hasn’t practiced as much as he should, so his progress has been stunted. He ran hard and carried some defenders with him.
+ Cincinnati will come into this game wanting to prove something and the Buckeyes will have to be prepared for that intensity.
+ After watching the film, Day was more pleased with the way the offensive line played than he thought immediately after the game. Jonah Jackson had nine knockdowns in the game. They moved FAU backward.
+ Learning to play in the pocket is something that happens over time for a quarterback. Playing 7-on-7 or going to camps is “nothing like playing the game of football.” Elbows drop on throwing angles when you don’t have to throw over a defensive line, which is no good when you’re playing actual football. From day one of spring practice to where he is now is a huge difference. He has grown a lot. He got hit hard a couple of times and stood in their.
+ JK Dobbins’ fumble can’t happen and they have to get that fixed. The bubble screen fumble is fixable. They need to have zero turnovers this week. Dobbins will “bounce right back from that.”
+ The first quarter of the defense was exactly what he envisioned when he made his hires. The second quarter was okay as well. Now they have to sustain that for 60 minutes.
+ Watching the UC film for a couple of days, the Buckeyes will have their hands full. It’s a veteran group. They are led by their quarterback and they have tough players. They bring different things to the table on offense. The defense runs to the ball. A lot of respect for Luke Fickell and what they’ve built down there.
+ Justin Fields played well in terms of game management. He didn’t force things. He kept the offense on schedule, which was a good job by him. Some reads and protection things need to be cleaned up, but with more reps that will happen.
+ They are continuing to work on the offense as a whole in getting Fields ready for this week. In the passing game, they’re looking at the protections, the routes, and all of those things.