Presser Bullets: Ryan Day Says the Buckeyes Are “Still Striving Towards Greatness,” Started Thinking About Michigan Before Saturday's Game Ended

The Buckeyes had plenty of positives to pour over following Saturday's 56-7 win over Michigan State.

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day, quarterback C.J. Stroud and several other members of the program assessed the performance immediately following the game, as the Buckeyes tallied their 10th win of the 2021 season.

Here's a bullet-point rundown of everything the Buckeyes discussed at the post-game press conference.

QB C.J. Stroud

"Everything we thought we were gonna get, we kind of got."
Stroud said the Buckeyes are never satisfied with their performance, and that the offense did "pretty good" against the Spartans.
Stroud says he told Kyle McCord to "just let it go" after throwing an interception in the third quarter. Stroud says McCord is "gonna be a great player" in the future.
"A lot of the things I could kind of see before they happened thanks to preparation."
"Chris (Olave) being a veteran, he kind of brings a sense of leadership." Stroud says Garrett Wilson is a "freak athlete," and that Jaxon Smith-Njigba is "probably the best route-runner I've ever played with in my life."
"My O-line did a great job, really the whole game." Stroud says "I was kind of back there chilling, in a sense."

Ryan Day

"You can see our capability. We certainly have a high ceiling. ... We're still chasing greatness."
On Stroud: "When you're looking at the way he's playing, when you only play a half of football and you throw six touchdowns, I think that matters when you're looking at statistics."
Day says Stroud "moved his feet well" and that the Buckeye run game was "efficient" against Michigan State.
Day says "the game wasn't even over yet and I was already thinking about (next week's Michigan game)."
On Stroud, Day says "the same people that told him, 'Maybe you shouldn't be playing,' are the same people telling him he should be the Heisman Trophy winner. You can't listen to either of those people."
Day says "I also was impressed with Julian Fleming today ... it was great to see him start to be a contributor on this offense, because he's been dealing with injuries."
Day says "you gotta be strong, you gotta bring it every week and you can't ride the roller coaster."
On the defense, Day says "they took it as a challenge to stop the run." Day says the Buckeyes focused on making Michigan State one-dimensional on offense.
"When you play in the Rivalry Game, all the records go out the window anyhow."
On Denzel Burke, Day says "at one point, we wanted to get guys some rest in the second half ... the guys wanted to keep playing."
Day says Emeka Egbuka's absence will not be a long-term one.

DT Haskell Garrett & DE Tyreke Smith

Smith says "we just had this mindset that we were gonna shut (Kenneth Walker) down all week."
On Michigan, Garrett says "we're really excited, and this is what this game is always about."
On Michigan, Smith says "we've been preparing for that team all winter, all summer. We've just got that game always on our minds."
On saying OSU would "whoop (Michigan State's) ass" in the Skull Session, Garrett says "I meant what I said and I said what I meant."
Garrett says it was "truly a special moment" when he put his pads on for his final game at the Shoe on Saturday.
Garrett says the biggest change in the defense since early in the season is experience. "These guys who are new faces are no longer new faces."
Smith says "the more we get turnovers, stops, three-and-outs, the more it raises our attributes." Smith says "we thrive off that."

WR Chris Olave & WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba

On Stroud completing 17 passes in a row, Olave says "when we spread the ball around, that can happen at any time." Olave says Stroud's talents are "off the charts."
Olave says "I had to get the ball" after catching his record-setting touchdown pass against Michigan State. Olave has it wrapped in a plastic bag at the press conference.
Smith-Njigba says "it's an honor to be out there with those guys." Smith-Njigba says the Buckeyes just focus on the next play and don't dwell on their success in the moment.
Olave says "when we get a one-on-one, we feel like that's routes on air. We got to complete that."
On Michigan week, Olave says "Team Up North is a real good team this year, but that's the biggest rivalry in sports, so we got to be ready for that."
Smith-Njigba says he "wouldn't be in this position and knowing everything I know without Chris (Olave)."
Olave says when he came in as the lowest-rated recruit in his class at Ohio State, he just kept his head down and kept working.
Olave says he knew in the spring that the Buckeyes could be a great offense.
Olave says "I never thought this day would come." Olave says he was "real emotional" when he woke up today, and that he's glad his family was here for Senior Day.