COLUMBUS – Ohio State head coach Ryan Day joined the Buckeye Roundtable show on 97.1 The Fan and Ohio State IMG Sports Network on Monday evening to kick off week two of the football season.
Here’s a summary of what was said.
Ryan Day
+ Day said he was most pleased with the fact that it was a clean game, considering everything going on. Other than the first series on defense they tackled well, only had three penalties, took care of the ball, and special teams was pretty clean. After looking at film they have a lot to work on but it was a good start.
+ On Justin Fields holding on to the ball too long, Day said they talk about it a little bit but also just let him play his game. He extends with his feet and Day doesn’t want to take that part of his game away. But there were times where he could probably have kept his eyes down field longer. There were also times he could have forced it and he didn’t and he protected the ball, so that was good.
+ He thought the running backs did a good job in protections. They ran better and got more comfortable as the game went on.
+ They came in with a good plan but the guys didn’t panic when things didn’t go as planned and they had to adjust, the linebackers specifically showed how veteran of a group they are with how they responded.
+ The looks were unique in the first game last year too and the run game looked a bit off but as the game went on they got more comfortable. There were looks Nebraska gave them that weren’t on film.
+ On getting a lot of young guys in the game, Day said some of them really opened some eyes.
+ On the receiver corp, Day said one of the biggest challenges for them was to see how tough they were. Obviously they were talented but ball security was number one, blocking on the perimeter, and then toughness. They took some shots and jumped back up and that was encouraging.
+ On Haskell Garrett, Day said that was an amazing story, how that played out. He gives a lot of credit to Garrett and the medical staff here at Ohio State. If it happened anywhere else he isn’t sure if Garrett would have healed that fast. To have him ready to play like that is tremendous.
+ On Sevyn Banks, Day said he wishes they were able to hear the noise of the crowd after a defensive score like Banks’ on Saturday. He got to run to the end zone and kick the point and Day said he looked around and said “did anybody just see that?”
+ On Penn State, Day said they outplayed Indiana. They played well but it just got away from them at the end. They are very good. They have to play clean, concise, and execute the plan. Going to Happy Valley on a Saturday night, it’s going to be a big challenge.
We should not over look PSU.
1. Unlike typical Indiana games, IN made the plays at the end which they very rarely do. What are the odds of 2 2 point conversions within minutes? PSU dominated them statistically. PSU made the mistake of scoring way too fast, a kneel down at the 1 with the lead and PSU would have most probably won that game.
2. Night games at PSU since 2014 have not been kind to OSU;
-In ’14, OSU needed OT.
-In ’16 OSU lost.
-In ’18, OSU needed two TD’s in the last 8 minutes and lousy O call on 4th down to win.
3. PSU’s lines will be better than NE as well as their run D.
4. PSU does have a running qb that ran for over 110+ yards at IN.
5. This is the first road game for OSU.
Can they, could they, should they win, yes, but OSU will need to bring their A game. Go Buckeyes
I know that Justin seems to hold onto the ball too long; but I think from his perspective it might be the “smart play” to take the sack. It’s not always possible to throw the ball away if you don’t have a clear throwing lane; so even a “throw away” if “forced” can result in a tipped ball which frequently leads to interceptions. Further, when Justin “takes the sack”, he can get down to protect himself; attempting to throw the ball away while under fire can lead to him getting hit while defenseless, which could get him hurt. Further, unlike previous Buckeye teams/quarterbacks, I don’t think Justin is fazed all that much by 3rd and 15 😉