Presser Bullets: Ryan Day And C.J Stroud Talk Overcoming Early Offensive Struggles in Iowa Win, Jim Knowles Says “We Expect These Good Things to Happen” On Defense

Ohio State laid waste to its fourth straight Big Ten opponent to start the season 7-0 on Saturday.

The Buckeyes blew past Iowa in a thorough 54-10 win that saw plenty of standout performances on both sides of the ball at Ohio Stadium.

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day discussed several of those and issued his overall thoughts on the contest at a press conference after the game, and we took notes on everything Day had to say below.

Ryan Day

On shaky offensive execution early: "Iowa does a very, very good jump up front and take away a lot of things up the middle." Day says "we knew it would take time to crack" the Hawkeye defense.
On JSN leaving the game after appearing to tweak his injury: "He was on a pitch count today and then once he got to a certain number, we shut him down."
Day says "it's not gonna be fireworks every series" on offense, and that the defense was a "big part" of Ohio State's final total of 54 points.
On Zach Harrison: "I think he was one of a few guys that brought that kind of energy. Zach's playing some of his best football right now. ... Zach has really come along."
Day says "I get frustrated with myself, first" when it comes to red zone struggles.
On Stroud's performance: "We just had to get into a rhythm on offense." Day says "we overcame it and pushed through" early struggles. Day says "I think it was healthy for us to get a good challenge today."
Day says the Buckeyes have a "big test next week in State College."
On Harrison, Day says he was one of the first recruits for him as head coach at Ohio State and that he didn't think the Buckeyes would land him at first. But Day says it was a "big deal" when the staff ended up landing him. "He's worked through some tough times and you're seeing the best version of him right now."
On Jordan Hancock: "He does a really good job of playing the ball, and excited to get that game under his belt."
On the red zone issues: "Touchdowns, touchdowns. That's it, that's all we focus on. ... The number one goal is to score touchdowns in the end zone."
Day says the numbers "don't look great" in the run game, and that the Buckeyes will evaluate it moving forward.
"The challenges are gonna get bigger and bigger, and we need balance moving forward. ... This was a very good team coming in here." Day says the Buckeyes had "a lot of respect" for Iowa coming in.
Day says Smith-Njigba was going to be limited to 20 snaps coming into the game, and that he was in that range on his final route of the game after which he left the game in the first half.
Day says the margin for error is going to get "tinier and tinier" moving forward.

C.J. Stroud

On a rough start on offense: "The first half was kind of weird. It's tough starting with the ball at the 30, 40. ... It's good to get that under our belt though, man."
Stroud says the Buckeyes had a "decent day" if you take out 3-4 bad plays in the first half.
Stroud says Ohio State had to "get some rust off" following the bye week. "We got a lot of good looks from them on being physical."
"We were just off a little bit" against Iowa. "They did a good job, veteran D-line, veteran linebackers."
Stroud says Marvin Harrison Jr. "played his ass off" against Iowa, and that the Buckeyes have to execute "on the little things" to improve.
"I don't have any expectations. I'm here to win. That's for the fans. ... Iowa's not coming in here to give us anything, we have to take it."

Jim Knowles

"We expect these good things to happen and I know it has an impact on the whole team. ... The turnovers, they help a lot in terms of winning the game."
Knowles says he's always viewed Harrison as elite. "I did not look much at last year when I got here. ... Zach has been performing every week on tape. I think he's elite."
Knowles says "I like the way our back end is getting a better feel for the coverages we implement."
On Tanner McCalister having two picks: "He's always been a very heads up player, always been very coachable. ... I saw him really take off last year in terms of playing with the confidence. The fact that he came here and showed that he wanted to elevate his game even more, it's great to see him making plays."
On cornerback play: "They look fine to me. I don't think we got tested very often on the outside or downfield, but they played hard the whole game."
Knowles says Hancock was "on a pitch count" today, but "changes things" for the OSU defense when healthy.
On using more three-linebacker looks against Iowa: "I thought Cody (Simon) played very well, we've been preparing for this. We have to morph the defense" when it's called for against different offensive looks.
On McCalister: Tanner's like a son to me. You become very close to these guys. To see him take the challenge, there's nothing easy about coming to the Ohio State. ... He's invested a lot in me by coming here."
Knowles says the Buckeyes have "taken a step today" on defense.

In addition to Stroud, Day and Knowles, Tommy Eichenberg, Tanner McCalister, Emeka Egbuka and Zach Harrison all met with reporters for postgame interviews Saturday.