Presser Bullets: Ryan Day “Knew It Was Gonna Take Four Quarters” Against Penn State, Praises C.J. Stroud And J.T. Tuimoloau For Big Performances

Ohio State needed a fourth-quarter comeback on the road against Penn State to stay undefeated on Saturday.

The Buckeye defense forced four turnovers overall and Ohio State scored 28 points in the final frame alone to lead the scarlet and gray to its sixth straight victory in the all-time series against the Nittany Lions.

After the 44-31 win, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day answered questions from the media at a post-game press conference at Beaver Stadium. We took notes on everything Day said below:

Ryan Day

"I'd say it was crazy, but we expect when we play this game here to be that way." Day references the 2017 and 2018 games. "A lot of things we wish we'd done better." Day says he thought C.J. Stroud was "unbelievable in the fourth quarter," says J.T. Tuimoloau was "off the charts" and mentions Cade Stover's fourth-quarter touchdown.
Day says the Buckeyes will "wait until tomorrow" to diagnose what went wrong with the run game in the first three quarters. "At the end of the day, great to get a win."
Day says "the expectation is to win," even though he'd like to win every game "by four touchdowns."
On Tuimoloau: "I don't know if I've ever seen anything like that before. ... This was kind of his coming-out party today."
On TreVeyon Henderson's touchdown run late: "In that moment right there, we started to kind of wear them down up front and move the pile a little bit." Day says Ohio State's blockers were "gritty" up front.
On being tested in a hostile environment: "It's huge, because nothing comes easy in this environment. ... This is totally different. To respond the way we did ... was great." Day says "that's the recipe in matchup games."
On Miyan Williams' health: "I don't know. I honestly don't know."
"Every game has its story, and this one we're gonna be telling for a while. ... We knew it was gonna take four quarters."
Day says he doesn't have an update on Jaxon Smith-Njigba's health.
Day says Penn State "does a good job of taking away the easy stuff." Day says in a game like this, "you have to look at the body of work through four quarters."
Day thought the Buckeyes could take a shot in the end zone at the end of the first half, but said he and C.J. Stroud were "not on the same page." Day says "I take all the blame."
"Lot of respect for Penn State, for James Franklin. This is a hard place to play. ... That locker room was on fire afterwards, they really deserve it."
Day says Tuimoloau has been the "unsung hero" for the Buckeye defense up until this point. "He's wanted it. He's believed in Coach Johnson and believes in the scheme and believes in his teammates."
Day says Stroud was "tremendous" with his play and leadership in the fourth quarter. "He was gutsy in this game and I'm proud of him."
Day says his favorite play of Tuimoloau's was the pick-six.