The final bit of talk before the College Football Playoff semifinals at the Cotton Bowl arrived on Thursday.
One day before their teams clash in Arlington, Texas, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day and Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian took to a stage on the concourse of AT&T Stadium for a joint press conference to preview the matchup. Day said that nothing the Buckeyes have done previously in the CFP matters entering the contest and “execution” is what will win the game.
Sarkisian said that right tackle Cameron Williams will play for the Longhorns while continuing to embrace his team's underdog role entering the matchup.
Ryan Day
- Day offered thoughts and prayers to the people of Los Angeles and New Orleans in his opening statement. "We're very excited about being here again. I think the Cotton Bowl does a great job at hosting our teams. ... We're excited to be here again. ... Every week we've had an opportunity to grow and to build, and we're excited to be in this spot."
- On the momentum the Buckeyes have entering the game: "Nothing that Ohio State has done or Texas has done is gonna have any impact on this game. Zero. ... Every single week the slate is wiped clean and you have to start from scratch again. ... There's a lot of opinions out there of what to expect, but it's ultimately going to come down to the players and who can play."
- Day said part of Ohio State's reduced number of plays was for wear and tear purposes, but it was also for more cohesion as Will Howard can communicate to the other 10 members of the Buckeyes' huddle.
- Day's studied Sarkisian's offenses for a long time, he said. "He's a tremendous offensive mind."
- On his move away from play calling: "I felt like it was time for me to spend a little bit more of my time and my spots with the team, defense, special teams. ... It consumes your mind, and that's what makes great play callers great play callers, and it allowed me to step away a little bit."
- Day said it's a benefit to both teams' players that Ohio State and Texas feel free to play each other to open next season. "You're allowed a loss or two to grow and build throughout the season."
- On if there's been an emotional "uptick" in his team since the Michigan loss: "I think that this team plays for each other, and all year, I've been proud of our men. And they're men. They really are. ... The only story that's told about your team is if you win. That's the reality. ... I think they know where they are right now. ... I think it comes down to the execution."
- On Ohio State linebacker Cody Simon and Texas linebacker Anthony Hill Jr.: "Our Mike linebackers in this game are both No. 0, and I think defense starts with the Mike linebacker. ... Cody is our Block O. ... Cody Simon does everything right. That's the best way to describe him. ... He communicates to the front and the back end, and that's going to be very important in this game."
- The physical, mental and emotional grind of a season that is now 15 games is a different experience than any "I feel like because of the length of the season and this bowl game is very different. This Cotton Bowl experience is very different than it was last year. ... These guys are not pros. They're not in their middle to late 20s, they're in their formative years. ... Learning to play this length of a season, there's a lot that goes with that."
Steve Sarkisian
- In his opening statement, Sarkisian reached out with thoughts and prayers for those affected by the terror attack in New Orleans and the wildfires in Los Angeles.
- Continuing, Sarkisian called being in the Cotton Bowl a "great honor" "Being in the semifinal game, it's a credit to our staff and our players, the work they've put in. ... To be back (in the Cotton Bowl), it's an honor. ... That said, we have a great opponent. ... In this day and age of college football, to think that you're going to go unblemished is unrealistic. Especially in our two conferences."
- On saying his team is a "massive underdog" entering the game: "They've been extremely explosive offensively. ... It's not always about who played the best through 12 games, it's who's playing the best right now. ... They're the favorite to win the game. And that's OK, that's football, that's sport. ... We have to go perform."
- Sarkisian echoed Day's sentiments about staying the same week-to-week in his team's approach. "We don't really change. Week to week, there's a formula."
- Sarkisian said he doesn't know if a day will come when he's not calling plays, but credited his staff for great communication on play calls and "lines of communication."
- While Sarkisian felt the importance of a conference title for his players as they tried to win one, he thinks some "tweaks" to the structure of conference championship games are in order. "I think time will tell what that looks like. I know for us in our first year in the Southeastern Conference, we wanted as much as anything to capture that conference championship. ... That's always one of the goals."
- On embracing the role of an underdog: "We don't talk that way ... it's a clean slate. And the reality of it is, you don't get any points for being an underdog. ... Our job is to put forth the maximum effort."
- On Quinn Ewers' growth: "It has not been an easy journey for him. There's been ups, there's been downs, there's been injury. ... But at the end of the day, he's remained true to who he is. He's been a steady sea for us ... his work ethic is unmatched."
- On the influence of his three years in the NFL on his approach to the playoffs: "The length of the season ... that's foreign territory for college student-athletes. ... The consistency of which we have to keep our players focused on the task at hand, as much as it's physically grueling, it's the mental grind. ... This has been a really long, long season for us. ... I think the mental side of it has been really important for us, that we find moments to take a break, to get a relief from football."
- Right tackle Cameron Williams will play on Friday, Sarkisian said.
