Ryan Day loved what he saw out of Ohio State in Week 3. While the Buckeyes blew out Western Kentucky on Saturday, Day said it was an intense focus from the program throughout the week that paid off in the game.

Overall, Day said the team was challenged to take the next step during practices. It all boils down to hitting stiff competition beginning next week with a road trip vs. Notre Dame.

“We needed to take the next step. We know we’re about to jump into the middle, we know we’ve got to go on the road next week. It was, that was a good week of work right there now,” said Day during his postgame press conference. “It started Sunday, Tuesday was a really physical day, Wednesday was a good day, Thursday we kept going at them. It was all week because we knew we had to turn this up and we had to build some momentum going into next week. You saw our team play like that today, and that’s what it’s got to be going forward.”

Day also liked the style of the game against the Hilltoppers but continued to refer to Ohio State’s true work beginning in practice during the week. He reiterated the Buckeyes “were turning it up” all week and said Notre Dame prep will begin Saturday night as opposed to the usual start on Sunday.

“I just think the style of the game allowed us an opportunity to go play and compete but make no mistake about it. We were turning it up this week,” Day explained. “We know what we’re about to get into. We wanted to build momentum going into next week. Everything was turned up in a big way. We got to get back to work and Notre Dame starts now. Usually, we start it on Sunday, but we’re starting to prepare tonight.”

Ohio State hits the road in Week 4 for the much-anticipated showdown with Notre Dame. The two programs will be in the national spotlight with ESPN’s College GameDay on hand for what should be an electric atmosphere.