After its second weekend off in three weeks, the Buckeyes are gearing up for a return to the playing field.
Having played in only one game since its Week 3 bout with Rutgers, No. 4 Ohio State (4-0) returns to game action against Michigan State (2-3) following the cancellation of last week’s game against Illinois due to positive coronavirus tests in the Buckeye program. Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said the cancellation weighed heavily on the team, but they’ve continued to work ahead.
“The players getting ready for a game and then all of the sudden having the game taken away, that hurts,” Day said Thursday on 97.1 The Fan’s “The Ryan Day Show.” “It has been very, very difficult for them and the leadership these guys have shown this week — being down some players, being down some staff — has really been excellent.”
The spike of positive cases forced the Buckeyes to pause team activities Friday, but the team resumed activities Tuesday.
Among the positive cases was Day, who said the program had multiple plans in place for this situation.
“The thing that we actually found was that you have to have, certainly, ‘Plan A,’ you have to have ‘Plan B,’ but you actually also have to have ‘C’ and ‘D,’” Day said. “At all positions, whether it’s staff or players, we’ve had to really plan ahead and be ready to put these contingency plans in place.”
Among the contingencies was the elevation of assistant head coach and defensive line coach Larry Johnson to the interim head coach position.
Johnson will make history Saturday, becoming the first Black head coach in Ohio State football history.
Day said he has plenty of confidence in Johnson and the rest of the coaching staff to get the job done in East Lansing, Michigan.
“Larry has already done a great job of keeping this thing rolling and he does a really good job in front of the team and motivation,” Day said. “And then on both sides of the ball, you have veteran guys.”
With his sudden rise to interim head coach, Johnson said he will rely on the staff around him to help him in his first head coaching role since he was at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Virginia, in 1993.
“That was the mindset in the beginning; it’s not gonna be just me. It’s gonna be the guys, [offensive coordinator] Kevin (Wilson), certainly [defensive coordinator] Kerry Coombs and [offensive line coach] Greg (Studrawra), all those guys will be around me,” Johnson said Thursday. “I feel really good going into the game because we have a great, very experienced coaching staff.”
The Spartans come into the game off a major upset against then-No. 8 Northwestern — beating the Wildcats 29-20.
In the upset effort, Michigan State was led by redshirt junior quarterback Rocky Lombardi, who threw for 167 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He added some relief on the ground as well, rushing for 65 yards.
On the season, Lombardi has totaled 1,057 yards, eight touchdowns and eight interceptions.
“I think he throws a deep ball as well as any quarterback we’ve seen,” Johnson said. “He’s made some mistakes, but that’s just growing into a new offensive system.”
Lombardi operates behind an experienced offensive line that returned three starters from last season.
Johnson said the Spartan offensive front will create a significant challenge for Ohio State’s defensive line.
“They’re a really solid group up front and they’re blocking real well, so it’ll be a great for us and the rushmen on Saturday,” Johnson said.
The Spartan defense also found its groove against the Wildcats, intercepting Northwestern graduate quarterback Peyton Ramsey twice and forcing two fumbles.
With the success last week, Day praised the Michigan State defense and its ability to force opposing offenses into mistakes.
“They’re playing well on defense, they’re creating turnovers, they’re owning the line of scrimmage,” Day said. “They understand how they’re getting attacked on defense and they really haven’t given up a lot of big plays.”
Michigan State’s slow start largely came from growing pains with first-year head coach Mel Tucker — who served as Ohio State’s defensive backs coach from 2001-04.
As the season wears on, Day said the Spartans have grown into a much more dangerous team.
“I think they’re a team that has gotten stronger as the season has gone on,” Day said. “The first couple of games they were still trying to understand the new system and then as they’ve played more and more football, I think they’ve gotten much more comfortable in what they’re trying to get done.”
As the Buckeyes have faced many twists and turns this season, Day emphasized that the team has taken everything in stride and continues to push forward.
“To see the majority of these guys, especially the leaders and the older guys, just continually push forward, that’s what the strong guys do,” Day said. “I’ll just tell you right now, we have a strong team.”
