Ryan Day shares how much he listens to outside noise

Ohio State dropped only two spots in last week’s AP Top 25 after a heartbreaking road defeat to now-top-ranked Oregon. Then the Buckeyes held steady at No. 4 this week despite not playing a game.

Head coach Ryan Day’s team is still very much alive in the national title race, especially with the debut of the 12-team College Football Playoff this year.

That said, whenever Ohio State loses a game, the program goes under the microscope. That’s just the reality of coaching and playing in Columbus.

The standard is winning every game, and when a game is lost, the outside noise is louder than ever.

Day was asked Tuesday about how much he listens to it.

“It’s easy for everyone to say just ignore everything,” he said. “Well, your players are reading it, your players’ parents are reading it, recruits are reading it. So you got to be aware of what’s going on out there. But, at the end of the day, you have to focus on what’s right, what you know your team’s about, and that’s really what it comes down to. And I think it’s important for our guys to understand that.

“But when you come to Ohio State, that comes with the territory. A lot of people care, and I understand that, and it’s my job as the head coach to make sure that when we get in that situation again, we win the game.

“So trust me, nobody’s working harder, and nobody felt worse coming out of that game than I did so I’m gonna do everything I can to make sure it’s right.”

Ohio State had a chance to go down the field and kick a game-winning field goal at Autzen Stadium. The Buckeyes had one timeout left and 1:47 remaining.

They made it to the Oregon 28-yard line with 34 seconds left. But an offensive pass interference penalty on true freshman wideout Jeremiah Smith pushed the Buckeyes out of field goal range, and Oregon’s intentional illegal substitution penalty drained time off the clock.

With six ticks to go, Ohio State quarterback Will Howard tucked the ball and ran after not seeing what he wanted from the Buckeyes’ flood concept. He slid one second too late, and Ohio State didn’t get a chance to use its timeout and attempt a game-winning field goal.

Earlier in the same press conference, Day was asked about a comment made by legendary coach and current ESPN analyst Nick Saban last week on “The Pat McAfee Show.”

“The way that Oregon sort of picked Ohio State apart, they didn’t affect the quarterback in any way. He had time, but they didn’t ever pressure,” said Saban, who won seven national championships as a head coach. “It was just four guys rush. Which, that’s kind of an antiquated way to play defense. I’m not being critical of somebody’s philosophy at Ohio State, but there’s so much four-man rush and simulated pressure that you’re still able to drop different people.

”… These things are ways to get pressure without giving up anything in coverage. I think in this day and age of football, you have to go down that road a little bit.”

When asked if he agrees with the “antiquated” description Saban used to illustrate Ohio State’s pass rushing scheme at Oregon, here’s what Day had to say:

“Well, when it doesn’t work, it’s accurate. It’s not working. There’s a lot of different ways to do it. There’s different strategies on how to go do that. But when you have the results that you do right now, then certainly it’s not working.

“And that has to change.”

The Ohio State defensive line didn’t record a sack against the Ducks, and it accounted for only one tackle for loss.

Day was candid about most things in his weekly press conference, his first since the setback in Eugene, including the outside noise surrounding his Buckeyes.