EVANSTON, Ill. — Ohio State head coach Ryan Day spoke with reporters following the Buckeyes’ impressive 52-3 win at Northwestern Friday night. He thanked the OSU fans in attendance and answered questions about his team’s performance. Prior to Day speaking with the media, sophomore quarterback Justin Fields answered questions as well. Here are the highlights.
Ryan Day
+ The team played with energy in all three phrases.
+ He felt the Buckeye fans the whole game. “I just want to let those guys know how much the team appreciates it.”
+ This is the JK Dobbins he envisioned before the season. This is the way he has practiced and worked. “When you practice that way, you play that way. He’s playing at a high level right now.”
+ Why is the second quarter so good? “I don’t know.” They want to start fast, but it’s hard going against this defense. The running was hard and they had to wear on Northwestern for a while before things loosened up.
+ Fields continues to takes steps. He showed poised. He had some good throwaways. If he keeps building on this, he’s going to be special.
+ There was a lot going on with the decision to start Nicholas Petit-Frere. They ended up needing Thayer Munford and it was gritty by him to get in there. He played hurt.
+ There was no looking ahead to Wisconsin. Next week is a huge challenge. They’ll get in late tonight and then begin preparation tomorrow.
+ OSU had 10 defenders on the field for one of Northwestern’s first big runs.
+ They wanted to get the ball inside 50 yards for Blake Haubeil, but they ended up being longer than that. It was good to see the team celebrate that one when it went in.
+ There were a lot of young guys excited about getting in there and playing.
Justin Fields
+ His ability to escape the pocket is God-given ability.
+ Black Haubeil’s kick at the end of the half gave the team a lot of juice.
+ The pass touchdown to JK Dobbins was put in for this game. They watched film and saw that it would be a good play to run against Northwestern.
+ When JK Dobbins is running well, it produces more one-on-one matches outside with the receivers.
+ There wasn’t a focus on getting Chris Olave the ball this week. You never really know who is going to get the ball week to week.