Ohio State head coach Ryan Day calls a timeout during the Ohio State-Nebraska game on Oct.24. Ohio State won 52-17. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
Although the Ohio State football team plays only once per week, the Buckeyes seek two weekly victories: one at the end of the game and one leading up to kickoff.
COVID-19 outbreaks have derailed Wisconsin’s season — forcing the Badgers to cancel their second consecutive game — while Ohio State has avoided cancelation so far. Head coach Ryan Day said he is focused on getting his team to a level of greatness in its play, but an unusual day-to-day routine and a relentless opponent in COVID-19 have made the path as difficult as ever.
Even before the final seconds tick off the clock, Day said he is anxiously awaiting the chance to play the game without any outbreaks.
“It’s week-to-week, it’s day-to-day, for sure,” Day said. “You hold your breath all week. You hold your breath the day of.”
After playing in the first Big Ten game of the season Oct. 23, Wisconsin has yet to take the field again after an outbreak of COVID-19 cases on the team. Wisconsin reported 27 active cases Nov. 3.
After the Badgers had their game against Nebraska canceled Oct. 28, Day said he felt for the Wisconsin football team. The Ohio State head coach also addressed the reality that Nebraska, who did not have any cases of COVID-19 on its team, was losing out on a game.
“It’s something we worry about every day,” Day said Oct. 29. “Just try to make sure we’re clean and doing our part, but even still, I thought Nebraska did everything they needed to do and still they don’t have a game this week.”
Now Purdue is the latest team to lose out on a game without having an outbreak of its own.
As the Big Ten rule currently sits, a team must play at least six games in order to be eligible for the Big Ten Championship — an event that is scheduled for Dec. 19. With only eight regular season games on the schedule and no open weeks to make up games, a Big Ten team could miss no more than two games and remain eligible.
Although Ohio State has not lost out on a game yet, it has had an issue with the protocols established by the Big Ten.
Graduate linebacker Justin Hilliard received a positive COVID-19 test Saturday ahead of kickoff — ruling him out of the matchup against Penn State.
Day said a subsequent polymerase chain reaction test would show the initial result to be a false positive, but Hilliard was still unable to play.
“We felt awful for Justin,” Day said. “I know that’s something that is being discussed and continually be discussed to try to figure out ways to make it better, but that was the policy that was in place. I know the Big Ten’s continually talking about it and trying to figure out what’s the best thing moving forward.”
Although he missed the game, Hilliard has avoided the 21-day period away from football that awaits any player who contracts COVID-19.
The uncertainty of roster makeup each week has forced Ohio State’s coaches to prepare players in a different way.
Defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs said a team can’t guarantee certain players will be available on game day, making preparation “dramatically” different.
“You better have contingency plans. You better have a thought process if you get three false positives in the same unit going into kickoff, what are you going to do?” Coombs said Tuesday. “It’s not just about coaching guys for depth, but now it’s about coaching guys for depth and versatility — which I think is important.”
Beyond the preparation aspect, Day said ahead of the Penn State game that the emphasis was to keep the players focused on the game and not the establishment of travel protocols — which included renting out the hotel and getting dressed before heading to the stadium.
Although Day felt the logistics of safe travel were handled well by the team, he emphasized that the focus on avoiding exposure to COVID-19 has remained.
“I think we did as good a job as you could do, but it’s just like anything else, if one person gets it and exposes others, that’s when it can get out of hand,” Day said. “We just cannot stop focusing on that and we have to continue to assume everybody on the team — every coach, every person — has it.”
Throughout the season, Day has said the Buckeyes need to handle the unusual circumstances better than their opponents.
Although safety concerns constantly loom over the team, senior linebacker Pete Werner said there is no shortage of enjoyment in playing during unprecedented times.
“It obviously is hard to try to find those little fun moments anywhere you can get them,” Werner said Wednesday. “If you play well you do have fun. As long as we keep playing well and doing our assignments, that’s fun to me. I like competing, I like winning games, I like to be on top so that’s fun to me.”
