Ohio State heads into its matchup with Oregon still sorting through the fallout from Saturday’s loss at USC, and the biggest immediate question involves the health of defensive tackle Eddrick Houston.
Coach Ryan Day sounded optimistic Tuesday when he met with reporters ahead of the Buckeyes’ next test.
“He’s doing better,” Day said. “... He plans to be out there today.”
Day was less specific when it came to left tackle Ian Moore, leaving Ohio State’s plan at that spot tied to how Moore responds over the course of the week.
The Buckeyes’ trip to USC also left Day with plenty to address beyond injuries. He said Ohio State did pick up the pace on offense late in the game, but the red zone execution still lagged.
Day: “We did speed it up... We probably could’ve gone faster.”
He also defended the late-first-half sequence that ended without a quarterback sneak for Luke Fahey on first-and-goal, saying the penalty was the real problem.
Day: “The penalty is really what set us back there.”
More broadly, Day pointed to negative plays and penalties as the main reasons Ohio State had trouble finishing drives. He said the Buckeyes need cleaner execution when they get close.
Day: “It’s hard for anybody to score touchdowns in the red zone... We have to execute cleanly down there.”
Asked about possible midseason coaching changes, Day didn’t sound interested in making sweeping moves.
Day: “I don’t think that I’m like against any of that if it’s appropriate. I’m not in that frame of mind right now...
It’s not an overall issue that we’re running bad plays or we’re running bad defense. ”
He also made it clear he sees Oregon as a serious challenge.
Day: “They have as much talent as anybody in the country. This team is excellent. I know they’ve lost three games, but put the film on.”
Day said he doesn’t believe in putting on a different personality just because the stage changes.
Day: “You can’t put on an act. You have to be who you are.”
On defense, Day said he saw some early breakdowns in effort at USC and agreed with safety Jaylen McClain’s postgame comments about explosive plays.
Day: “I felt like there were some plays early in the game where that happened... We all have to look in the mirror and see why exactly that (explosive plays allowed) happened.”
He also addressed Ohio State’s offensive personnel usage, saying there is value in different groupings and describing the tight end room as “solid.”
Day: “But we always have to evaluate and be real and figure out what is the give and take with all that.”
At quarterback, Day praised Luke Fahey’s command and toughness in the USC game. Fahey will start against Oregon.
Day: “He had the right approach. It was not all perfect... He also made a lot of plays.”
Day was asked whether he feels rewarded for bringing offensive line coach Tyler Bowen back this season, but he didn’t answer that directly. Instead, he focused on the unit’s mistakes.
Day: “You’ve got to evaluate everybody. That’s the thing about being at Ohio State.
The expectations are very high... There have just been too many mistakes there.
We have to improve on that. I think he would tell you he’s working as hard as he can to get those things fixed.”
There’s also a chance Austin Siereveld could slide in at left tackle, with the final call potentially hinging on Moore’s status.
Day on Siereveld replacing Moore at left tackle: “It wasn’t a performance issue.”
And when asked about Jeremiah Smith’s frustration, Day said it isn’t about touches. In his view, it comes from a player who demands a lot from himself and from the team.
Day closed by framing the Oregon game as a chance for Ohio State to clean up what went wrong at USC, move on from the loss and lean on the home crowd.
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