Ryan Day recaps Ohio State's win over Minnesota, previews Oregon in weekly presser

It’s the Bucks against the Ducks this weekend.

Ohio State will host Oregon on Saturday in a marquee matchup of two teams looking for an inside track to a potential College Playoff berth. Both teams came away from Week 1 with wins, but struggled to get there.

The Ducks were able to hang on to get the win over Fresno State, and the Buckeyes took until the second half to figure out how to handle Minnesota and for redshirt-freshman C.J. Stroud to get into a rhythm.

The importance of this non-conference game and the high stakes are not lost on either team. Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day met with the press on Tuesday to discuss the win over the Gophers, the plans for the Ducks and touched on the significance of playing on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

Day had a lot to say, and here are some of things he talked about at the presser.

Ryan Day meeting with the media now. He’s hoping the environment at Ohio Stadium this weekend will be “one of the best in a long, long time” as fans return to the Shoe for the first time in more than 600 days. pic.twitter.com/UsOIfMiQCJ

— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) September 7, 2021

Will Ohio State shorten its RB rotation against Oregon?
"Moving into this game, that's probably the goal," Ryan Day says.

— Griffin Strom (@GriffinStrom3) September 7, 2021

Ryan Day declines to discuss specifics about injuries to Cameron Brown, Sevyn Banks and Josh Proctor.

— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) September 7, 2021

Ryan Day on Minnesota running back Mohamed Ibrahim: “Terrible news to see him out for the season, because he's a heck of a back.”

— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) September 7, 2021

Ryan Day says there were more plays drawn up for Jeremy Ruckert on Thursday that the Buckeyes didn't get to use because Minnesota dominated time of possession.

— Griffin Strom (@GriffinStrom3) September 7, 2021

Ryan Day on Oregon: “This is a very, very good team that's coming in here … they have power, they have strength, they have toughness but they also have speed and athleticism.”

— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) September 7, 2021

Ryan Day on Ohio State's secondary against Minnesota: “I thought they competed … Were there mistakes? Absolutely … But overall, there were some really good things.” Said he liked the edge the defensive backs showed in the first game, but knows they must continue to improve.

— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) September 7, 2021

Day says a lot of improvement needs to happen before this weekend because otherwise, they won't win the game.

— BuckeyeScoop (@BuckeyeScoop) September 7, 2021

Day says Minnesota was changing personnel a lot, which led to the Buckeyes matching personnel and rotating players a little more.

He says it "looked like a New York sidewalk" with huge groups of guys running on and off the field so frequently.

— BuckeyeScoop (@BuckeyeScoop) September 7, 2021

Asked about Master Teague not playing in the second half, Day says decisions on running back rotations are left up to Tony Alford. They talk about it beforehand, but it's ultimately up to Alford.

— BuckeyeScoop (@BuckeyeScoop) September 7, 2021

Day says now CJ Stroud can say he's done a lot of things he hadn't done before. Going on the road, playing in front of fans, starting a game, throwing a pass, throwing a touchdown, throwing an interception, now he's done all of those things and can build on them.

— BuckeyeScoop (@BuckeyeScoop) September 7, 2021

Day says Mario Cristobal has a background in line play, and Oregon's toughness embodies that.

They have power, strength, and toughness, but also speed.

— BuckeyeScoop (@BuckeyeScoop) September 7, 2021

Ryan Day said how much Ohio State substituted on defense against Minnesota was somewhat unique to that game because the Buckeyes wanted to match the Gophers' personnel, though he reiterates that Ohio State is going to play depth.

— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) September 7, 2021

Day says they will talk about the significance of 9/11 at some point this week. He was a junior at New Hampshire and getting ready for class and a Tuesday practice.

A teammate of his lost a family member.

"It was obviously a very, very difficult time."

— BuckeyeScoop (@BuckeyeScoop) September 7, 2021

Ryan Day was still playing for UNH when the Sept. 11 attack happened. One of his teammates lost a family member in the attack, so it hit home for them. With the 20th anniversary coming up on Saturday, Day said the team will talk about that this week.

— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) September 7, 2021

Ryan Day on Luke Wypler starting at center against Minnesota: “There were some good plays, there were some not-so-good plays, but for a guy getting thrown in the fire, it was a hell of a start.

“If Luke keeps doing what he's doing, he's going to play a lot.”

— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) September 7, 2021

Day says they're expecting to get CJ Stroud more involved in the rushing attack moving forward.

"CJ can run the ball, and he will."

— BuckeyeScoop (@BuckeyeScoop) September 7, 2021

Day says Oregon DE Kayvon Thibodeaux will be one of the best players they've faced.

"We have to make sure we know where he is and have a plan for it."

— BuckeyeScoop (@BuckeyeScoop) September 7, 2021