A historic evening at Ohio Stadium is almost here.
On Saturday, Ohio State and Tennessee will face off in the first-ever College Football Playoff game at the Horseshoe. After a few media appearances earlier this week, Ryan Day appeared on The Ryan Day Radio Show to provide his final comments on the matchup before kickoff.
Day said the Buckeyes have spent the past three weeks resting, evaluating and focusing on improving in all phases after their loss to Michigan. Coming off several spirited practices this week, Day emphasized the need for execution, discipline, and intensity entering Saturday's CFP matchup, calling for "playing with their hair on fire" in the contest.
Following the head coach's comments, Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles made an appearance to discuss Caleb Downs, Lathan Ransom, Cody Simon and more.
Ryan Day
On Ohio State's past three weeks of prep for the CFP
- "We used the first week to rest and assess coming off the last game and take a look at the season."
- "We used that next week as a prep week."
- "Now, we're in a game week."
- "The guys are fired up to get back on the field."
On Ohio State's practices this week
- "We've had really good practices, very spirited practices."
- Day said "guys were flying around" at practice on Wednesday.
- Day said Ohio State needs to put together another good practice on Thursday.
On Ohio State's mentality entering the Tennessee game
- "Everybody across the board has got to play with their hair on fire."
- "We got to execute. We got to do our job. We got to make sure we're all doing exactly what we have to do."
- Day said Ohio State's scout team plays a crucial role in preparing the offense and defense for future opponents. He said the scout team has done a good job this week in preparing the team for the Tennessee game.
On Ohio State self-identifying issues in all three phases
- Day said Ohio State has used the past three weeks to identify its issues on offense, defense and special teams.
- Day said each of Ohio State's assistant coaches have worked through issues with their position rooms since the loss to Michigan.
- "Every team at this time of year is gonna have their issues, whatever those things are. The team that identifies those issues and gets those things fixed is gonna give themselves the best chance in these playoffs."
On Ohio State's seniors wanting a win in their final game at the Shoe
- "Not something we expected to happen, but here we are."
- "I know that our guys are excited to get back on the field and make sure this game is completed with a win."
- "Senior Tackle was tremendous just to listen to the guys and how much they love Ohio State, they love this university, they love this program, they love their teammates. They want to make sure their last game (at Ohio Stadium) is finished with a win."
On the "Scarlet the Shoe" theme for the Tennessee game
- "Our administration makes those decisions."
- "(They ask) if we are good with it. I'm good with it as long as they are. We check with the captains to see if it's something they want to do just to bring a little more excitement to the game. They wanted to do that, so we're gonna do that.
- "It will be a great atmosphere."
On Luke Montgomery
- Day said he had a conversation with Luke Montgomery a couple of weeks ago where Day told him he needed to be ready to enter the game at any point down the stretch.
- "He's gonna have an opportunity in this environment, the playoffs, to go play. He had a couple of good weeks of work. Good to see him get out there."
- "We're gonna rotate those guys a bit, but what a great opportunity here. We gotta step up and play really well."
On Donovan Jackson, Seth McLaughlin, Josh Fryar
- "They have really good defensive ends and really good pass rushers. Not only is he playing tackle, but he's playing tackle really well. He's really helped his value, knowing that he could move around in the NFL. It's been his approach, to me, that's been tremendous. Great to see him get the recognition he deserves."
- "Great to see Seth get the Rimington (Trophy). For him to come in and do that says a lot about him in such a short period of time to make an impact here at Ohio State."
- "The other guy who has shown leadership this year has been Josh Fryar. He's been consistent over there. We're gonna need him and both of those guys on the end helping this game with the guards to make sure that we're on the same page and communicating. That's gonna be critically important so we can win the line of scrimmage."
On TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins
- "I think it needs to. I think it needs to, yeah. This has been the whole idea that late in the season we are playing with great velocity, we are running downhill, we are running through contact, we are fresh. That's what has to happen in this game."
- Day said Henderson and Judkins have been excellent in practice this week.
- "That's the way they've gotta run on Saturday."
On Ohio State's offensive line
- Day said he wants Ohio State's offensive line to be aggressive and violent on Saturday.
- "Going into the game, we want these guys to play as hard as they possibly can, finish and knock back the line of scrimmage."
- "We'll need that here on Saturday."
On Will Howard, his leadership
- "The quarterback play and the quarterback leadership will be very, very important to the outcome of the game."
- "We've let Will know that he needs to be a great leader. He's been a great leader. But this is where quarterbacks really step up. There's a lot of keys to this game, but one of them is his leadership."
- "We don't need him to do anything extraordinary. He's got to take care of the football. He's got to get the ball in our playmakers' hands in space. And then he's got to deliver on third down, in the red zone and in the two-minute drills."
- "He's had great energy, but we're gonna need that leadership in this game to go win."
On challenges with the college football calendar, the transfer portal
- "It creates such a difficult situation not only for the players but also for the coaches and programs who are looking to put their team together for the next year."
- "This has become probably the first time where we've had to deal with this and the length of the season. (The end of the season) is now Jan. 20, and with where the portal is, it's a big-time challenge."
- "We've got to sit down after the season and figure out how to change this and make it better for everybody."
- Day said Ohio State is in "a good place" regarding the transfer portal.
On Tennessee's offense
- Day said Tennessee's offense will look to spread out Ohio State's defense and "push the envelope on how fast they can play."
- "Tempo, spread you out horizontally, vertically, and then they've done a really good job running the ball."
- "Running backs are running very hard, offensive line has done a good job and the quarterback is playing well this season."
On Caleb Downs, Lathan Ransom and Jordan Hancock
- "In a game like this, the safeties have to play great."
- "Caleb, Lathan and Jordan, those guys are gonna have to be on their A-game."
- Day said tackling will be crucial for Ohio State's defense to have success against Tennessee's offense. Day acknowledged that "sounds simple," but with how the Volunteers spread the field, good tackling could be the difference in the game.
On the officials for Saturday's game
- Day said officials for Ohio State-Tennessee will be from the ACC.
- "Each of these folks has statistics as well. That doesn't change how you're gonna play, but it also brings some awareness on what they tend to call more than others."
- Day said the officiating crew has worked together for most of the season. "These guys have mostly worked together, as far as I've been told."
On Ohio State's pregame routine
- Day said Ohio State will keep a similar routine to its home games in the regular season leading into the Tennessee game.
- Day said Ohio State will be at the golf course on Friday, stay at a hotel downtown Friday night and into Saturday and spend time at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center on Saturday.
- "It's kind of a normal home game for us. There are a couple of tweaks here and there, but not much."
On Ohio State's game plan entering the Tennessee game
- "Whatever it takes to win the game, we gotta do."
- "The bottom line is we have got to do the things that maximize our strengths and minimize our deficiencies. And then we all have to take accountability – players, coaches, everybody to their job and to put the players in the best positon to be successful. What does that mean? I won't get into all of that, but that's the bottom line. We have to make sure we're doing that."
- "It's one thing to move on from a game, but it's another thing to get those issues addressed. I feel like we have, but now we gotta put it on the field and execute at a high level."
- "We will be a confident team going into Saturday night."
Jim Knowles
On Caleb Downs
- "He makes an impact everywhere in the building and on the field."
- "Always wants to learn."
- "Wants to be coached."
- "He's talented, but he's also very into the details of the game."
On Lathan Ransom
- "Lathan is a great young man."
- "I think everybody can be proud of him."
- Knowles said Ransom's career arc is "lost" in today's college football with name, image and likeness and the transfer portal. Knowles said Ransom has battled adversity and has come out the other side as a star. "Lathan is an example of a guy who's gone through it and has really had a great career."
On Cody Simon
- "He is a true leader of this team."
- "He steps up in big moments."
- "We're certainly gonna need it this weekend."
On Tennessee's offense
- Knowles said Ohio State's defense has prepared well this week to defend Tennessee's up-tempo offense.
- Knowles said scout teams do their best to simulate up-tempo offenses, similar to how scout teams do their best to simulate triple-option teams.
- "You do everything you can to simulate it in practice even though you're never gonna quite reach it. But you try to be creative with ways that guys have to get lined up fast... turn their back to the offense.... there's some creativity involved."
