Ryan Day says Ohio State responded to toughness challenge with Week 11 shutout
Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes are riding high with a one-loss record, most recently defeating the Purdue Boilermakers, 45-0. With a shutout victory like that, it is clear they never let off the gas following the 20-13 road win over No. 6-ranked Penn State last week.
“We wanted it to be a little different in the fact that we had an emotional win last week, coming back and not having a letdown,” Day said after the game. “So, we challenged them all week to come out, play physical early on in the game. I felt like we did that… we played strong. There are still a lot of things that we have got to clean up.”
Even though there are some things he would have liked to see his team do differently, Day was pleased with the overall outcome.
“But it’s good to see us respond. We want to be undefeated in November,” the head coach continued. “We want to be undefeated here in Ohio Stadium, so, we’ve got to get some rest tonight and we’re on to Northwestern next week.”
"We wanna be undefeated in November, we wanna be undefeated here at Ohio Stadium."@JennyTaft speaks with @OhioStateFB's Ryan Day after a shutout win over Purdue ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/Sfm10xHoLe
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 9, 2024
One of the biggest highlights was freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, who only continued to etch his way into the record books on Saturday.
“He’s been consistent for a freshman,” Day said. “He does a great job every day of coming in and working hard and, for a freshman, sometimes you hit that wall. So, he’s been really picking up momentum here and it’s good because there’s a bunch if guys in that room who are unselfish.”
Smith finished out the victory with 6 receptions for 87 yards with 1 touchdown.
The Buckeyes will look to keep the momentum rolling as they face Northwestern on the road on Saturday, Nov. 16 at noon ET.