Ryan Day evaluates how Ohio State's defense has adjusted on the fly

Ohio State and Notre Dame are set to clash in one of the biggest games of the weekend and the college football season thus far, and Buckeyes coach Ryan Day knows one thing. His defense better be ready to adjust on the fly.

Notre Dame will feature both a new quarterback and a new offensive coordinator, making this a potentially very different game than last year’s.

“It’s important. We’ve seen it this year and so we have to be ready for that,” Day said. “Like you said, new quarterback, new coordinator so there will be change-ups and curveballs for sure on both sides and that’s part of the game now.”

Notre Dame’s offense has found a new gear with Wake Forest transfer Sam Hartman plucking the strings at quarterback. Hartman has thrown a nation-leading 13 passes already without being intercepted.

Meanwhile, the Fighting Irish boast a powerful run game behind a deadly offensive line. They’re capable of ripping off chunks of yardage on the fly.

Tailback Audric Estime has already piled up 521 yards and five touchdowns on the ground, and he’s an absolute load to bring down. Even if Ohio State handles both well early on, Day expects some adjustments.

The key is to be ready with counters. But you have to do that without overwhelming your defensive players on the fly.

“Finding that balance is the art of coaching,” Day said. “Making sure that you have enough but not so much that guys aren’t playing physical, because that’s what you need. You need guys playing fast and physical in games like this, that’s the most important thing.”

Ideally all goes well and Ohio State sees exactly what it has prepared for in practice all week long.

“That’s the goal as coaches,” Day said. “But we have to be ready for the unknown and you saw that obviously in Game 1. We’ll be ready for that this game.”

Ohio State and Notre Dame are set for a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff on Saturday on NBC.