Ryan Day talks to his team after their touchdown after an Ohio State touchdown was temporarily ruled incomplete during Ohio State’s 42-9 victory over Rutgers Nov. 22. Credit: Daniel Bush | Campus Photo Editor
Ohio State and Indiana will make history Saturday night, as it will mark the first Big Ten championship game featuring two undefeated teams.
The winner of the No. 1 Buckeyes and No. 2 Hoosiers will be crowned as the conference champion, but it could also determine the top seed in the final College Football Playoff rankings.
Head coach Ryan Day is looking forward to the opportunity for Ohio State to win the Big Ten championship for the first time since 2020.
“This is a really good team and it’s going to be a great atmosphere,” Day said. “I know our guys are looking forward to it, going to [Indianapolis]. It’s been a long time since we’ve been to Indy, too long.”
Here are the takeaways from Day’s Tuesday press conference at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
Handling the emotion of the Michigan game
After four winless years, Ohio State finally broke its losing streak against Michigan last weekend, with a 27-9 win in Ann Arbor.
Day said the team has to shift its focus from beating its biggest rival to the next opponent.
“The minute that game was over, it’s on to Indiana,” Day said. “So that’s where our focus is and we can’t be looking back on last week at this point.”
Day compared the situation of playing in back-to-back crucial games to last season’s College Football Playoff run, in which the Buckeyes ripped off four straight wins to claim the national championship.
“The challenge for our team is now, can we do it back to back weeks and regroup, reload and get back after it this week and continue with the same routine,” Day said. “The good news for us is we’re going to keep our same routine that we have for a road game.”
Facing Indiana
This season, Indiana and Ohio State have each faced Illinois, Penn State, Purdue, UCLA and Wisconsin. Against those five teams, the Hoosiers have scored 233 points, while the Buckeyes have scored 188. Defensively, both teams allowed 50 points.
On the season, Indiana ranks second in the country in scoring offense with 44.3 points per game and second in scoring defense with 10.3 points per game.
“The first thing that jumps out to me is how hard they play, how well they’re coached,” Day said.
Offensively, the Hoosiers are led by quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who has thrown 32 touchdown passes, which leads the nation.
“He makes a lot of plays with his feet and you can tell he’s very intelligent,” Day said. “He can see the field and makes good decisions and plays situational football.”
Sayin’s growth throughout the regular season
Redshirt-freshman quarterback Julian Sayin’s regular season campaign consisted of leading the country in completion percentage at 78.9% and throwing the third most touchdown passes with 30, which has led him to become a Heisman Trophy candidate.
Day has been impressed with how Ohio State’s quarterback has developed from his first game of the season against No. 1 Texas on Aug. 30 to last week’s 27-9 win over Michigan.
“The guy who played against Texas and the guy who came off that field Saturday looked like two different people to me,” Day said.
But just like his message to the rest of the team, Day is focused on Sayin continuing to improve from the Michigan game and playing at a high level during the postseason.
“We’re at it again now, Big Ten championship, so he’s got to be on,” Day said. “That game is over with and he’ll learn from it, he’ll grow from it, and try to use a lot of that as confidence moving forward.”
