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Ryan Day says it’s ‘okay’ to be excited about Ohio State’s defensive performance

Paul Harvey

By Paul Harvey

Published:

Ryan Day knows Ohio State did not quite fire on all cylinders in the season opener against Indiana. While the Buckeyes rolled to a comfortable 23-3 win, the game was tight at halftime and the offense never got fully comfortable in Week 1.

Still, the Buckeye defense was dominant, limiting Indiana to 153 total yards and 2.2 yards per carry on the afternoon. While Ohio State did not force a turnover, it’s equally true the Hoosiers were too limited to try and take any chances in the contest.

After the game, Day highlighted the defensive effort of the Buckeyes and admitted it’s okay that he’s excited for that type of outing from the group:

“We know what we need to do in order to win down the stretch: Play great defense and run the football,” said Day. “We’ll continue to work to do that. Like I said on the radio, it’s okay for me to be excited about great defense, you know? And I thought our defense played really well, so I’m excited about that.

“What we talked about is it’s a different-looking defense. We’ve got some good length out there, got our hands on some balls early, took some shots early. I thought we were there ready to make a play. Defensive line was disruptive. A lot to grow on.”

At the end of the day, it is just the first test for Ohio State and far from its toughest one of the year, but it is still good to see the team take care of business. Hopefully that unit continues to grow and develop into an elite squad this season.

Paul Harvey

Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.