Football: UpDAYtes ahead of top-four showdown in Happy Valley against No. 3 Penn State

Head coach Ryan Day following the Michigan State University game on Saturday. Credit: Carly Damon | Assist. Photo Editor

Another top-five matchup looms for the No. 4 Buckeyes.

This time, against No. 3 Penn State.

Ohio State and head coach Ryan Day will face what feels like a must-win game away from home in one of the toughest college football environments.

“Unbelievable opportunity right here,” Day said. “This is a chance to go to [the Big Ten Championship] — Indianapolis is on the line — and our guys are excited about playing in this game.”

Here are the three biggest updates from Day’s Tuesday press conference at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.

Zen Michalski

The biggest and most pressing concern for the Buckeyes is who’ll be their starting left tackle.

Ohio State is already down Josh Simmons for the remainder of the season and backup Zen Michalski suffered an injury against Nebraska Saturday.

Day said the team is still working through Michalski’s availability, leaving the option open of him suiting up against the Nittany Lions.

Day originally stated that if Michalski is available, he’ll be the starter this weekend. However, he backtracked minutes later and said all options will be evaluated either way.

“If he can go, we’ll continue to evaluate where we’re at,” Day said. “I don’t think we’ve made a decision on that yet — we have to first see if he can go, and then go from there.”

Either way, it was evident Michalski struggled in his career start against the Cornhuskers. But Day is confident that this week’s practice will translate to Saturday’s game.

“He did not grade out a champion in the game,” Day said. “He had some tough plays that caused some negative plays, but we know what we see in practice, and we gotta continue to support him and make sure he knows we have confidence in him when he goes in the game.”

Third down times nine

The biggest takeaway from Ohio State’s scare against Nebraska was its one-of-10 mark on third downs.

During Day’s 23-minute press conference, he emphasized nine different times that the Buckeyes need to improve converting on third downs.

“When you’re not converting on third down, you’re not keeping drives alive,” Day said. “To go one-for-10, that’s just unacceptable.”

“The bottom line is you gotta convert on third down,” he said.

“Make the routine plays on first and second down, play well on third down and score touchdowns in the red zone,” he said.

“When you go one-for-10 on third down, execution fuels emotion. When you’re not converting on third downs, it’s hard to get your rhythm going,” he said.

Leading up to the game against the Cornhuskers, Day said he spent more time with the defense. This week, however, he is going to spend more time in offensive meetings.

Arvell Reese’s targeting call

The Buckeyes submitted the targeting call and subsequent ejection of linebacker Arvell Reese to the Big Ten for review following Saturday’s contest.

After the call was made, Day spiked his headset into the ground on the field and was held back by coaching staff members. Fans began throwing items onto the field as boos erupted, and following the game, the referees had to be escorted off the field by law enforcement.

Ohio State was told Monday that the Big Ten went to the NCAA football secretary-rules editor to challenge the targeting call. Upon review, it was determined to be incorrect, meaning Reese will be available for the entire Penn State game.

“I think what Arvell did in that situation is about what we’d expect someone to do and react in that moment right there — trying to go win the game with the game on the line,” Day said. “From what I believe, he keeps his head out of the tackle.” 

Day said it is difficult to coach players with such a gray area surrounding targeting.

“It’s frustrating to think with everything on the line, you’re trying to teach the guys what to do,” Day said.  “To be put into that situation is very difficult. I give the league credit; I think the easiest thing to do would’ve been just to say, ‘No,’ but they did at least stand up and say, ‘No, that should not have been targeting in that moment.’ Nobody is more frustrated than me.”