Ryan Day knows that in college football you can’t assume anything.

His Buckeyes manhandled Nebraska last Saturday with a 35 point win, and No. 18 Penn State lost in overtime in an upset to Indiana, but the second-year Ohio State head coach is taking the weekend’s game with the Nittany Lions seriously.

“I think they look excellent on all three phases”, Day said in his weekly radio show. “I think they look well-coached. I think they have good talent. So this is going to be a difficult game, and (I have) a lot of respect for James (Franklin) and his coaching staff over the years. You’ve gotta earn wins against these guys.”

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He echoed those sentiments on his Thursday during his weekly radio show.

When talking about Penn State, he said, “This team has played us as tough as anybody.”

He went further to single out Nittany Lions defensive ends Shaka Toney and Jayson Oweh: “They’re both fast and quick off the ball … we’ve got to do a great job of getting our hands on them early.”

When discussing the win over Nebraska, Day said “A lot to build on, but a lot to learn from.” He added that the Buckeyes are looking for improvement in all areas this week, as they know they have a bigger challenge in front of them on the road at Penn State.

Day also addressed the going concern over the COVID-19 hurdle that has already caused scheduling issues in the league.

“It’s “pretty terrifying” going on the road knowing Ohio State will be tested for COVID-19 on Saturday morning when the team is already in State College, which could hurt the Buckeyes’ depth if anyone tests positive. The travel roster is still limited to 74 players,” Day said.

Ohio State and Penn State kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC Saturday night.