As the Buckeyes begin their preparation for their first Big Ten game of the year and their third game of the season overall, Ohio State coach Ryan Day joined the Buckeye Roundtable show on the Ohio State IMG Sports Network on Monday night for his first media appearance of the week.
Day talked about what went well in Ohio State's 42-0 win over Cincinnati on Saturday and discussed what the Buckeyes will need to do to improve to 3-0 against Indiana this upcoming weekend. A quick recap of what he had to say during his interview:
- On the Buckeyes' defensive shutout against Cincinnati: "Those guys fought toward the end of the game," Day said, in reference to the backups on defense. Said he thought the improvement of the backup defenders from week one to week two was critical. Thought the starters tackled well and performed well overall, though he acknowledged there were a couple missed opportunities for turnovers that they could have had.
- On the running game against Cincinnati: "I thought that the line really blocked well." He noted that Cincinnati blitzed on almost 85 percent of its defensive plays on Saturday, and he thought the line did a good job picking those blitzes up.
- On Drue Chrisman's punting, which earned him Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week honors: "I think all of our specialists are doing a great job. I think Drue and Liam (McCullough) are pros in what they do, and he's a weapon for us." Said the Buckeyes are still working on solidifying their gunners on the punt team.
- "As we get into conference play, the margin for error is a lot smaller." Day said the Buckeyes feel good about their starters and pretty good about their second-team guys, but said they still saw issues on film even after their 42-0 win this past week.
- On Indiana: "They got a really good defense in terms of scheme. They've done some really good things in the offseason, changing some looks up. Marcelino Ball's one of the best guys in the secondary that's in the league ... On offense, the freshman quarterback (Michael Penix Jr.) has really flashed a lot the last couple weeks. They've got a new coordinator there who comes with a great background. They'll spread you out and play tempo and score points."
- On playing on the road for the first time this year, Day said he believes the most important things for the Buckeyes are to run the ball well, stop the run effectively and play with toughness. With the game being at noon, said it's important for the Buckeyes to be disciplined in their travel and be smart with their sleep schedule.
