With a win in one of the biggest games of the season now in the books, Ohio State is looking to keep the momentum going and improve to 3-0 this week at home against Rutgers.
With preparation for the Scarlet Knights already in full swing, Ryan Day made his weekly appearance on Monday night's Buckeye Roundtable show to review the Buckeyes' 38-25 victory over Penn State and look ahead to this week's primetime home game against Rutgers.
A bullet-point roundup of everything Day had to say, including some high praise for Chris Olave, how Marcus Hooker can build off his interception in Happy Valley and why the Buckeyes could face a tougher challenge from Rutgers this year than in past years:
- On the performance at Penn State: “I thought the energy and the physicality that we played with was excellent ... I thought we played really, really hard.”
- On Garrett Wilson's 62-yard run to open the game: “We wanted to kind of get the ball out there on the perimeter a little bit and kind of set the tone.” He said the Buckeyes had really worked hard on that play, and they thought they did a great job blocking on the perimeter to clear the way for Wilson to make a big play.
- Day said the Buckeyes' two-tight end sets “have really done some good things for us in terms of different looks.”
- On controlling the line of scrimmage against Penn State: “I thought on both sides, we did a great job.” Day said both the offensive line and defensive line said they thought that was one of the most physical games they've played in a long time.
- On the defensive line's performance led by defensive line coach Larry Johnson, a former Penn State assistant: “Always an emotional game for Coach Johnson, so to see those guys play like that was big.”
- On Marcus Hooker's interception: “He really broke on that ball with confidence.” He thinks that play is going to “really catapult his confidence moving forward ... Now the country knows who Marcus is.”
- On Chris Olave, when asked if he's had any other receivers he could compare Olave to: “He's probably the best I've been around ... He's special.” Day said the Buckeyes see him make plays in practice, but he always steps up in big games, and when you combine how clutch he's been with his toughness and ability to track the ball down the field, “yeah, he's probably the best I've been around.”
- Day said Justin Fields said he saw double zeroes on the clock when he took a knee before halftime. “It was like a bad dream, I couldn't believe what was going on,” Day said recalling when he was told there was one second left on the clock and the Buckeyes had to go back on the field.
- On Rutgers: “Very different than last year. Greg's done a really job of bringing in guys, some transfers, and really upgraded the talent ... I think he's building something, and he's done a great job upgrading the talent. This is not gonna be the same team we've played the last couple years ... We're going to have to do a good job. We're going to have to make sure that we prepare, take care of the football, take care of the basics and play a really hard game, because they've already upset Michigan State, and Greg's a very, very good coach.”
