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Ohio State is set to return to the field this weekend as last weekend’s game against Illinois that was cancelled due to COVID-19 protocols.
At 4-0 and currently fourth in the recently released College Football Playoff rankings, Ohio State has a lot to play for this Saturday at Michigan State. For head coach Ryan Day, the game is a big step forward for the team’s march to the Big Ten Championship Game.
This, even as Day himself is sidelined due to the coronavirus and won’t be coaching this weekend.
Ohio State has remaining games this weekend at Michigan State and then the following Saturday at home to Michigan before potentially taking the field in the conference championship game.
And with just one win over a ranked opponent this year, three weeks ago when they defeated then No. 9 Indiana 42-35, Ohio State has to win out.
Day talked about the return to the field in his weekly radio show:
Ryan Day: “The leadership that these guys have shown this week, being down some players, being down some staff has really been excellent… It'll say a lot about our program if we can rally this week after having another disappointing weekend last weekend… and go get this win.”
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) December 3, 2020
Ryan Day: "We haven't had anybody that's needed to be hospitalized or any type of medical treatment or anything like that. There have been some guys that have experienced some of the symptoms." He says for the most part, the players who tested positive are "resting comfortably."
— Colin Hass-Hill (@chasshill) December 3, 2020
Ryan Day on being unable to coach during Saturday's game: “It'll probably be the hardest three hours of my life.“ He says he will be communicating with the team all the way up until the game, but he won't be able to communicate with the coaches and players during the game.
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) December 3, 2020
Ryan Day on 97.1: "Doing good. Resting comfortable here. It's been a tough week. It's certainly been a frustrating week."
He says he gets practice video nearly in real time and meets with the staff at the regular times but via Zoom instead of in person.
— Colin Hass-Hill (@chasshill) December 3, 2020
Day said OSU has gotten good news from the PCR testing this week.
— Bill Rabinowitz 🗞 (@brdispatch) December 3, 2020