Ryan Day sends strong message to Buckeyes as Big Ten opener vs. Wisconsin approaches

After dispatching then-No. 5 Notre Dame in the season opener, No. 3 Ohio State is set for its biggest test since when it takes on Wisconsin at home under the lights for the Buckeyes’ Big Ten opener.

Ohio State has trounced both Arkansas State and Toledo the last two weeks, while Wisconsin managed to bounce back last week against against New Mexico State after a home loss to Washington State. Forget the records, though, Ohio State coach Ryan Day knows his team will need to be ready to play.

“Without sounding like a broken record, that’s what it is every week,” Day said. “Any team can beat you and you can beat any team. You can say that once or you can keep saying it till you’re blue in the face, but the guys have to listen and they have to believe in you.”

As good as Ohio State has been — and as lopsided as the series has been lately , with the Buckeyes beating the Badgers in each of the last eight meetings — Day knows you’re always one bad outing away from a loss.

And on paper, at least, Wisconsin looks pretty good.

They boast the nation’s sixth-ranked team passing efficiency on offense, while the Badgers rank in the top-25 nationally in just about every major statistical category on defense. Wisconsin allows just 8.0 points per game (eighth nationally), while giving up only 246.0 yards per game (11th).

“We know about Wisconsin. We know the style of play, we know exactly what we have to do,” Day said. “But that doesn’t mean it’s going to happen. We’ve got to go do it on Saturday. This is a very good team that plays really hard and takes care of the football. So we’re going to talk to them about all those types of things and challenge them.”

Buckeyes Big Ten opener a chance to establish baseline

The season opener against Notre Dame might have been a bigger statement win had the Fighting Irish not proceeded to implode following that relatively modest 21-10 defeat.

Now it’s unclear just how good Notre Dame is. The same can be said for Wisconsin, to a degree.

If Ohio State is looking to affirm just how ready it is to get back into the College Football Playoffs after missing out in 2021, Saturday would be a good start. The first five games of the season for the Buckeyes are at home. So getting into a groove now, before a bevy of road games the rest of the way, would be a good idea.

Easiest way to do that? Just play to the standard Day has set for Ohio State. That’s the challenge this weekend.

“But again this is not something that’s just coming up right here, at 2:30 team meeting,” Day said. “We’ve been talking about this for a long time and knowing every week it’s going to be a new challenge. What are these challenges?

“A lot of them are the same. You’ve got to tackle well, you’ve got to run the ball, you’ve got to stop the run, you’ve got to take care of the football, you’ve got to play well on special teams. We know all those types of things, but then there’s some things based on where your team’s at, based on the opponent specifically, that you’ve got to do that week. So we’ll just keep hammering those and keep messaging the team the best we can so that we can play our best on Saturday.”