When Tennessee walked into the Shoe on Saturday, few realized they were heading for a slaughter.
Ohio State smashed the Volunteers 42-17 in the first round of the College Football Playoff, bouncing back in a big way from a catastrophic loss to Michigan. Day said the key to a huge difference on offense was a more aggressive game plan and better execution from his players.
Day also praised the play of quarterback Will Howard and his offensive line in the win.
- The press conference opened with a congratulations from College Football Playoff commissioner Rich Clark, officially welcoming Ohio State to the CFP quarterfinal and the Rose Bowl.
- On where that performance was against Michigan: "I'm proud of our seniors for a lot of reasons. ... I'm also proud of the way that they responded. I told them locker room, in life, you're gonna be defined by the way you handle adversity. ... They had a look in their eye that they were going to go win this game, and they played that way."
- On what was done differently in the game plan: "I think it was a combination of things. ... When you go back and look at the season ... we were a different team when we lost Seth (McLaughlin). ... We really didn't play great on offense in the Indiana game. ... We called this game more aggressively, there was no question about that. We did some things in this game to maximize our strengths. ... I also thought Will (Howard) was excellent in this game."
- Day felt his team handled it well when Tennessee started gaining some momentum near halftime. "I tell the guys all the time, in games like this, you've gotta have poise because there's ups and downs. ... This is a very good SEC team that came up here so we knew it was going to be easy."
- Day felt the Buckeyes' confidence growing throughout practice in the run-up to the game. "The execution. We've talked about that the last few weeks. ... I thought we, for the most part, fielded the kicks better in this game. I thought we blocked better in this game. ... There was a confidence coming out of that first quarter because we were playing with a lot of energy."
- Day said a play or two that could have been game-altering was erased because Ohio State left no doubt, as has been one of his calls this season. "When you leave no doubt, nobody will talk about those plays, because we did. ... Those drives in the third quarter that allowed us an opportunity to pull away when the defense was getting stops."
- On the offensive line and Luke Montgomery: "When you don't notice the guards, they're doing pretty well. I noticed Luke's energy, toughness ... we blocked a lot better this game, and they have a really good front. ... That allows us to have balance."
- Day said the guard rotation "seems healthy."
- On Howard: "We worked hard on some of those throws, and he hit a few of them right on the money. ... He was accurate today. ... A big thing for Will is his footwork, when his footwork is going well and he's seeing things, he's as good as anyone in the country."
Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, Jim Knowles and players Jack Sawyer, Will Howard, Donovan Jackson, Cody Simon and JT Tuimoloau also met with reporters following the win and you can see what they had to say in the videos below.
- #8 Ohio State 42, #9 Tennessee 17
- • Buckeyes Smoke Tennessee 42-17
- • Buckeyes Leave No Doubt in CFP Opener
- • Jack and JT Takeover
- • Seth's Victory Stogie
- • Ohio State Postgame • Tennessee Postgame • Photos • After Carmen
- • Five Things • Notebook • Social Reax • Three Key Stats