Ohio State football coach Ryan Day met with the media on Tuesday to preview his team’s top-5 showdown with Indiana.
Here is what Day had to say about Indiana.
No. 5 Indiana (10-0, 7-0) and No. 2 Ohio State (9-1, 6-1) kick at Noon ET Saturday in Columbus (FOX).
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ON THE ATMOSPHERE FOR GAMEDAY
“All right, guys, excited about a great week here. And one thing that is great about being at Ohio State is you get a chance to be around the best fans in the land. And I know that this week is going to be a huge opportunity for us to show the nation what the best damn fans in the land look like.
“And so talked as we about on the radio show, and this is going to be that type of game where we’ve got to be loud on third down every time they have the ball and certainly the atmosphere is going to be tremendous. So looking forward to this week of prep and challenging our guys this week to have the best week of preparation they’ve had all season and then get after it on Saturday.”
ON PREPARING FOR IU’s OFFENSE AND THE EFFICIENCY OF KURTIS ROURKE
“I think our guys have done a great job of identifying the things that early in the season we need to do a better job at. And so this will be a great challenge for them and a great test to see where we’re at. You know, I think our guys are excited to play in this game.
“It’s a very good challenge. You know, they have a very good team. You know, they have good talent at the receiver position. And so I know our guys are excited for the challenge. And I think you’ve seen improvement in different areas. But, again, this will be a great test for them.”
OVERALL IMPRESSIONS OF INDIANA
“I think the first thing is I don’t think their players get enough credit. I think the coaches have done a great job, and they’ve done a nice job this year, but the players are the ones who play, and they have good players, and they’ve done a nice job of changing their roster or upgrading their roster in certain areas. I think they play very hard.
“They are well coached. They take care of the football. They cause turnovers.
“They play well in special teams, and their best players play on special teams. For instance, their top running back is back there as a protector in the punt, which does a lot of things. It shows that special teams are important to them, but it also makes you be aware, hey, there’s a running back back there when you’re punting.
“So I think there’s a lot of things they’ve done, but you can see that they’ve been very successful in everything they’ve been looking to do in terms of installing a culture in all three phases, and so it’s going to be a great challenge for our team. We’re looking forward to it.”
ON IU COACH CURT CIGNETTI AND HIS CONFIDENCE
“Everybody has to motivate their team, and certainly when you feel like you have good players, it certainly gives you confidence. I think he’s done a great job of instilling that, but ultimately this is always about us and our preparation. Every week we try to keep the same routine and focus on us.
“Now you’ve got to know your opponent. It’s very, very important to know their tendencies and what they do, but in order to be consistent week in and week out, you’ve got to keep the same routine. That’s about our routine.
“That’s about our focus. That’s what we need to do, and all the different core values that we believe in in terms of winning games, and that will be the same this week.”
ON INDIANA’S DEFENSIVE LINE
“Yeah, yeah. This is going to be a great challenge for the offensive line. I know they’re excited about it.
“It’s very good and productive, and they’ve, like you said, put up a lot of numbers and done a great job. They’re moving every snap. They’re penetrating, and they do a nice job with it, so I think our guys are excited about the challenge, and the game’s going to be won up front.”
ON KURTIS ROURKE’S RUNNING ABILITY
“Yeah, he’s played good football this year, and yeah, he has athleticism and can make guys miss and run, and you’ve seen, obviously, the numbers that he had leading into this season, so we’ve got to make sure we’re playing it honest. But I think he’s played good football this year. The numbers speak for themselves, and he’s very accurate in what he does, and he knows what he’s doing.
“He’s played a lot of football, so he’s an experienced guy. So, again, great challenge for our team.”
ON INDIANA WINNING WITH TRANSFERS
Yeah. I think what’s unique about this situation is that Coach Cignetti came over from James Madison and brought a core with him. So, there was already a group of guys that knew the culture, and then he integrated it with those guys, had some success early, and then it’s just kind of grown from there.
“And I think that’s a winning recipe. I think when you come in without having guys who know your culture, that’s a little bit of a different approach.
ON INDIANA’S RECEIVERS AND HOW THEY COMPARE TO OREGON
“Yeah, they’re very productive. You know, they made a lot of plays this year, and look like they run really good routes and have good ball skills. So we’ve played good receivers before, but these guys are just on par with those guys.
“And so again, we’ve got to get to work this week and make sure that we have a great week of preparation so that our guys know what it’s going to feel like on Saturday. But the combination of the route running, the throwing, the catching, and the way that the quarterback and the receivers work has been very productive up into this year. So, again, big for our guys this week.”
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