Head coach Ryan Day after Ohio State’s Sept. 28 game against Michigan State University. Credit: Carly Damon | Asst. Photo Editor
On Saturday, Ohio State will face a rare obstacle in its regular-season run: the Buckeyes are preparing to rebound against Nebraska after dropping their Oct. 12 showdown with now-No. 1 Oregon.
Head coach Ryan Day said the loss has forced players to open their eyes and “drive harder.”
“You put patches or band-aids on things, and then all of a sudden, you go to a loss and it gets ripped open, and you have more, harder conversations and you make bigger decisions,” Day said.
Moving forward, Day said the coaching staff is motivated to improve and put players in better situations.
“You learn some hard lessons in a game like that, when things like that get behind you,” Day said. “Our job as coaches, we gotta own it and train these guys better.
Here are the three biggest takeaways from Day’s Tuesday press conference at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
Josh Simmons out for the season
What was expected is now official.
The Buckeyes will be without their starting left tackle Josh Simmons for the remainder of the season, following a knee injury against Oregon.
“He really had made a lot of progress [this season],” Day said. “He was playing very, very well. Big loss, but [we] got an opportunity for another guy to step up.”
That guy will be senior Zen Michalski, who replaced Simmons during the Oregon matchup and will start at the left tackle position going forward.
Day said he feels confident in Michalski’s ability to take on Simmons’ role and believes he has earned the opportunity.
“He’s a veteran guy who’s played a lot of football here in the program — not as much in games, but he goes against really good players every day in practice,” Day said. “I think he was able to go into that game, in a big environment, and build confidence coming out of it.”
The offensive line’s established veteran leadership will be crucial in getting Michalski comfortable for the remainder of the season, Day said.
“He’s got some good guys right next to him, with Donovan [Jackson] and Seth [McLaughlin], that can help communicate some of those things that are going on with the calls,” Day said.
Will Kacmarek-less Buckeyes
Simmons isn’t the only notable contributor who will be out for an extended period of time.
Day said Tuesday that tight end Will Kacmarek will be sidelined for “a little while,” but the team is confident in the depth at the position moving forward.
“I thought Gee Scott played one of his better games in terms of running routes down the field. That part was good — blocking [too],” Day said. “Jelani [Thurman] is gonna have to step up now, Bennett Christian is gonna have to step up — these guys are gonna have to play and we’re gonna have to put them in there.”
More specifically, in the absence of Kacmarek, the Buckeyes will need a run-blocking tight end to step up.
Day said he believes Christian can be that player for their offense.
“Spring, he made some progress. Preseason, you started to see some more; he started getting more consistent,” Day said. “And then, as the season’s gone on, you’ve seen him improve, and now he’s doing it in game[s]. His physicality is gonna help us, and he’s done a good job of running routes as well. It’s time for him to play anyways, so this happened at the right time.”
How does the defense move forward?
Where does Ohio State’s defense go from here?
Going into the game against Oregon, the Buckeyes defense allowed an average of 202 yards.
The Ducks garnered 496 against Ohio State, more than doubling that average.
Day said yardage wasn’t the only concern, as he also mentioned the turnover battle, allowing too many explosive plays and not “winning the rushing yards” as factors that led to the Buckeyes’ loss to the Ducks.
Day said Ohio State failed to record a sack against Oregon due to the lack of pressure put on quarterback Dillon Gabriel. This pressure is something the team will hone in on as it moves forward.
“We want to get more pressure on the quarterback, there’s no question,” Day said. “It’s the coach’s job to make sure that we put our players in a situation and environment to be successful. That’s the first thing we gotta look at, and then it’s the player’s job to go do it.
Day said practices should be as challenging as possible to mimic this high-pressure atmosphere.
“That’s been part of the conversation this past week — putting those guys in that situation, challenging them more vertically in practice, because it’s our job as coaches to put them in an environment so they’re ready to go,” Day said.
Despite its inconsistent play against superior opponents under defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, Day said he believes in the defense moving forward.
“I know what the plan is moving forward,” Day said. “I’m involved with the plan, so I got confidence in all those guys on that side of the ball.”
