Postgame Updates: Ryan Day, Coordinators Recap Dominating 42-17 Playoff Win Over Tennessee

COLUMBUS — Ohio State head coach Ryan Day met with reporters following the Buckeyes’ 42-17 win over Tennessee in the first round of the College Football Playoff. He talked about the game plan, his players, and more. Following that, offensive coordinator Chip Kelly and defensive coordinator Jim Knowles took their turns in front of reporters. The highlights of everything that was said can be found below.

Ryan Day

• “I’m proud of our seniors for a lot of reasons.” They finished their last game in Ohio Stadium “like that.” Proud of the way they responded. He told the team they would be defined by the way they respond to adversity. “You could tell from the jump that they had a look in their eye.” “We’re gonna enjoy this for 24 hours and then it’s on to Oregon.”
• What did you guys do differently on offense? It was a combination of things. “It was a little bit of everything.” They were a different team when they lost Seth McLaughlin. They really didn’t play great on offense against Indiana “truth be told.” “We called this game more aggressively, there’s no question about that.” But they also maximized their strengths and minimized their deficiencies. “I also thought Will was excellent in this game.” “Jeremiah was dynamite again.”
• There was balance on offense. “We had some good runs, and those hit for us.” Now this has to build momentum into the next game.
• Did you feel like you let them off the hook in the second quarter? Yeah, that’s why they came out in the third knowing they had to stop them on that first drive. “I tell the guys all the time in games like this you’ve got to have poise because there are ups and downs.”
• Day liked the call to throw on Will Howard’s interceptions. You have to live with the aggressive attack. Tennessee is a good team who fought their way back.
• On the importance of the first drive: Execution was huge. They blocked and threw and caught better in this game. “There was a confidence coming out of that first quarter because we were playing with a lot of energy.” Even coming out of warmups you could feel that these guys wanted to play in this game.
• How important was this win for the team? The first week was an identification of the issues from The Game. You don’t move on right away. You allow the players to speak because they are invested in this. Coaches have their two cents. Then you move forward and find out who your opponent is. About Wednesday you could tell that this team was ready to play. “These guys have a lot of pride. They love each other and they are a great representation of Ohio State.” “They are not satisfied at all. They are quickly going to get their focus on Oregon.”
• On leaving no doubt in this game: “That’s it.” There were a couple of calls in the game that could have been game-altering plays, but when you leave no doubt, people won’t talk about those games because they didn’t matter.
• On the rotation at guard: “When you don’t notice the guards, they’re doing pretty well.” He noticed Luke Montgomery’s toughness and edge. They blocked Tennessee well. Had some good gap schemes and double teams. “I thought we at least focused on the things that these guys could do well.” They all played with good energy. “Great to see Carson play well.” Will the rotation continue? “It seems healthy to me.”
• The defense is playing with confidence. Coming off of the last game, the defense felt like they may have to go win this game. “You just never know. It could be like the Oregon game. It could be like the last game of the season. You have to do whatever it takes to win. We have to win three more.”
• Have you seen anything different from Will Howard the last few weeks? “I thought his footwork was good.” They worked hard on those throws in practice. He was on point. “He was accurate today.” When his footwork is on point and he’s seeing things well, he’s as good as anybody in the country.
• On the Big Ten: There is great football here. “We play nine conference games, so we beat each other up sometimes.” Beating an SEC team like Tennessee is good for the conference.

Chip Kelly

• On the offensive line: “I think our line played outstanding tonight.” Tennessee was fifth in the nation in scoring defense and total defense. The offensive line kept Will Howard clean.
• How do you help the offensive line with play calling? “We’re always trying to play to their strengths.” Justin Frye kept them up to speed on what the rotation was and who would be going in. Having depth at this time of season is critical and having three guards that played well is important.
• Can you throw to run? “It just depends on who you’re playing.” Depends on what you’re trying to exploit. You can try to throw to run but he’s gone three and out, three and out, three and out before in his career, so it’s not that simple.
• “I think the one thing with Will is he’s consistent.” He is the same guy every day in his approach. He’s a life-long learner. He’s not up one day and down the next. He’s consistent.
• What did this performance say tonight about how good you are when you play your best? “It says we’re one of eight teams left. Everybody is fighting for the same prize. To win it all, you’ve got to win the first one.” Ryan Day did a great job keeping everybody focused.
• On the last three weeks for Ryan Day and how he handled it: “I just saw the guy I’ve known since he was five.” He understands the gravity of this job and this situation. Nobody took the loss harder than he did, but he also has to lead from the front. They addressed the issues and corrected them. “Our players went out and won this football game. They were awesome.” When you start to call plays and Will Howard can finish the play calls before Kelly, that shows such great buy in from the seniors.
• “If we’re in the tournament, then let’s go win it.”

Jim Knowles

• What was the priority for the defense tonight? “No explosive plays.” If they’re gonna score, make them earn it. The one drive they had featured a really suspect roughing call. “I thought we had a great plan.”
• On Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau: “We knew they were gonna have a good game.” “We thought we’d be able to change up coverage enough to get him to hold the ball.”
• On the rematch with Oregon, how different is this defense now? “I don’t know how different it is. There’s been adjustments. There’s been different calls. There’s confidence. We’re looking for the opportunity.” The guys got pissed off and it’s led to a run for them defensively. “They used that game as a motivation, so I’m sure they’re looking forward to another opportunity.”
• On the SEC chest-pounding? “I have no idea. I don’t know. I know we won today and we played pretty well.”
• What was halftime like? “I got after them pretty good at halftime, I did to be honest with you. Because I felt like we were rolling at the beginning of the game.” He challenged them at halftime because he knew as long as the defense did its job, things were gonna turn out alright.

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