Thursday Bullet Points: Ohio State's Success Against Penn State, Defensive Line Dominance, and Previewing Saturday's Rutgers Game

Ohio State's heading back to the 'Shoe this week to take on Rutgers, and Ryan Day's getting the Buckeyes ready to go.

Just two days ahead of the matchup with the Scarlet Knights, Day took to his final weekly media availabilities on Thursday afternoon, joining his weekly radio show on 97.1 The Fan and briefly meeting with the media to offer some final updates.

Day was also joined by running backs coach Tony Alford for the final portion of his radio show.

Here are some of the highlights.

Ryan Day Radio Show

On the first two offensive drives

"It was great. It was something we talked about a bunch going into the game: we wanted to get a fast start."
Day said a few times Ohio State had to come back against Penn State and win the
Day said Ohio State's goals were to win the line of scrimmage, protect the ball, and start fast.
"I think we really accomplished all these things, which is encouraging."

On the offensive line's dominance

"I think it was a lot of hard work to get to that point with not having spring ball."
Day said it was hard to get a team ready to play physical without getting guys hurt.
"That was the key to the whole game was winning the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball."

On the defensive line depth

"I think Larry (Johnson) has done a great job of building depth."
"We were really nervous a few weeks ago and now it's become a strength for us."
"The more depth we can play, the more guys we can be, the more fresh we can be."

On defending the QB run

"We knew that was going to be part of the gameplan."
Day said it was pretty clear from James Franklin's press conference that the QB run was part of their plan.
"I thought we did a good job of it."

On Justin Fields' ability in the film room

"He's improved, not that he's been bad at it."
Day said he's improved at his ability to "take the meeting to the field."
Day said Fields is getting better at visualizing how a play might look against different looks.

On Justin Fields calling audibles

"There are certain plays that he knows that we can kind of get out of."
Day said sometimes they call two plays and he picks the best one, or they'll have him look to the sideline.
"There's certain things he can do."
Day said he's not just going to call a different play at the line of scrimmage if it's not something they've talked about.
Day said they talk to Fields about the plays, they aren't just calling them without him knowing what's going on.

On defending Penn State tight end Pat Freiermuth

"We always say that when you make that first play, it kind of changes the momentum and how they call plays."
Day said Baron Browning's ability to make that first play was "huge."

On defending a running quarterback vs. a pocket passer

"On third down, it changes things a little bit in terms of rush lanes or whether you put a spy in there."
"Typically, when you have a running quarterback on first and second down, you have to figure out how to put an extra hat on the ball."
Day said for a passing quarterback, you have to start thinking about double-teaming receivers and dropping more guys into coverage.
"Great quarterbacks make other guys on the field better."

On Rutgers offense

"They've done a good job of spreading you out and done a good job in terms of schematics."
Day said Rutgers has more talent this year than last.
On Rutgers' tempo: "That's something they believe in and something they've worked on and use it as a weapon for them.

On playing against teams with familiarity

Day said stealing signals isn't really an issue.
"We have people who come and go, year in and year out."
Day said they update all their signals and calls to make sure nobody knows them.
"Change the name, change the signals, that's all."

On Rutgers' defense

"They've upgraded their talent."
they've got a couple of Ohio State guys up there," mentioning Brendon White and Malik Barrow.
"They're playing hard, they're tackling well."

On coming out fast after halftime

"We try to put a good gameplan together coming out of the locker room."
Day said they really focus on the first drive to put together a sort of script.
Day said they find their four best runs, four best passes, and find plays for third down, short-yardage situations and the red zone.

On the tight ends

Day said they blocked well on the perimeter, mentioning the first run by Garrett Wilson
"It was good to see them in the pass game."
Day mentioned Farrell, Hausmann and Ruckert were all good in the pass game.
Day said Ruckert and Fields altered Ruckert's route on his deep touchdown.

On controlling the game

"When you're playing against Penn State it's tough to get big plays."
Day said to win, you have to be good at putting together drives and staying on schedule.
Day said it's also important to score in the red zone.

On Master Teague

"It was good to see him run the way he ran."
"He was decisive, he ran with power."
Day said the bigger backs "don't need to be dancing around in the hole."
Day said he wants Teague to just get downhill and go.
"The big plays will just happen naturally

On Cade Stover at tight end and special teams

"His best football is ahead of him."
"His experience on defense allows him to make some plays on special teams."
"I think he's got a chance to be a good tight end for us."

How many stuffed animals would Justin Fields win at a carnival throwing game?

"Well, we're not letting him go to the carnival because of the virus," Day said with a laugh.
"I tell him everyone's got the virus. Even stuffed animals have the virus," Day joked. "He can't go around anyone."

On fourth-down success

"Justin is pretty strong and powerful with his legs, so that's key."
"It's not something we've really done a lot of, so catching people off guard is good."
Day said they caught Penn State looking to the sideline on one of them.

Tony Alford Radio Show

On Master Teague against Penn State

"Master obviously ran better. I think he ran harder."
Alford said he thinks Teague was a little more definitive in his decision-making.

On struggles after the first game

"I wanted to run my head through the windshield of my car," Alford said after the first game.
Alford notes that they did win by five touchdowns, though, so you have to appreciate the wins when they come.
"In their defense, we hadn't been banging on them at all," Alford said, noting they hadn't really been hit until the first game.
"We just weren't running through stuff the way we needed to."
"But we're getting there. We're still not a finished product by any means."
"If your players aren't doing well, you have to look at yourself first as their coach," Alford said.

On Trey Sermon

"He's really worked diligently just to fit in with the guys."
"The guys took him in, and he's fit in with everybody really well in our room."
Alford notes it's been almost a year since the last time he played, after his injury at Oklahoma.

On splitting the reps

"We've got guys, and they all want an opportunity."
Alford said everybody is confident and thinks they can play "or they wouldn't be here."
"Everything is earned. Everything you do is earned, as far as your reps and carries and things like that."
"It's not an exact science."
"Those guys all practice hard and they're all ready to go when they're tapped on the shoulder."

On the offensive line

"Those guys are amazing."
"They're hard-nosed guys, they're tough guys."
"It's a great group upfront. Our running backs know that. Our whole teams knows that."
"You want to check the pulse of your football team, look at the offensive line."
"I couldn't be more proud of how those guys are."

Ryan Day's Thursday Press Conference

On how Justin Hilliard’s false positive affected Ohio State’s strategy when taking the team on the road: “Not much because we kind of planned on something like this happening. Not that we wanted it to.” He says he’s hoping there’s a “good solution” with a PCR test by the end of the week.
If he wants to see more elusiveness out of Master Teague: “I don’t think Master’s that kind of back.” He says he thinks being a downhill and powerful back without many negative plays, which is how he played on Saturday,
Day says the starters have “got to play” even in blowouts because the season’s shorter, but they want to “play depth.”
He says the coaches don’t talk a lot about which young players to give opportunities ahead of games. But they do have guys they’re wanting to see some guys who “should have an opportunity to play.”
Day says Harry Miller can multitask and has a lot of different interests, which “has been great.” He says they support him. “He’s kind of a man of many talents and interests.” He thought Miller played strong last week and he’s hoping he takes off from there.
“I think Luke (Farrell) and Jeremy (Ruckert) both played well in that game.”
He says the No. 1 job as a football coach is to adjust the attack based on personnel.
On the chemistry of Justin Fields and Chris Olave: “I saw two guys who are very hungry. I know the way last season ended really bothered the two of them, especially that last play.”
On if Brendon White’s exit was on good terms: “It was. It was just one of those things where it felt like he needed a fresh start.” He says they wish him nothing but the best and “think he’s got a lot of talent.”
Day says it was explained to him that not every Big Ten program has the capability to do PCR tests with that quick of a turnaround, which is why Hilliard couldn't play. He says that was agreed upon before the season, but they're trying to figure out a way to allow players in that situation to play.
"We don't really pick out who we're throwing the ball to unless it's a flat-out man-on-man coverage."
Day says he doesn't think they'll be over 85 scholarships once they sign the 2021 class. "There's some unknown there," but he thinks they'll be under the limit.