Ryan Day addresses how he decides when to respond to outside talk

Ryan Day made headlines when he responded to critics of Ohio State, namely Lou Holtz, after the Buckeyes defeated Notre Dame.

Since then, it’s been a little quieter for the No. 4 team in the country due to a bye week. But with Ohio State back in action, Day answered questions about when he thought it was best to respond to outside talk.

Admittedly, Day said as a head coach you have to bite your tongue a lot, something he definitely evaluates before saying whatever he needs to say.

“You have to execute a lot of patience,” Day said. “You gotta bite your tongue a lot. That’s part of the job. But sometimes when your team reaches a certain point, sometimes, you know, you just gotta do what’s right for the guys on your team. And you’ll find that balance is the art of being a coach. But yeah, to your point there’s a lot of times where you just have to take the high road and that’s going to be done the majority of the time.”

However, Day didn’t hide his feelings regarding the mentality of Ohio State versus everyone else around the country.

“But I also know that you know, it’s Ohio against the world and that’s part of the job,” Day said. “Our guys also know that. There’s a certain time where you gotta stand up for what you believe in and we’re focused on Maryland, so that’s behind us, but I also think it was a lesson learned for our team.”

Quarterback Kyle McCord, like Day, is ready for the next challenge this season.

McCord threw career highs in completions (21) and attempts (37) which, in turn, helped Ohio State drive when they needed to and, ultimately, put them in position to score enough points to win at the very, very end against Notre Dame.

With that said, with that outcome nearly two weeks in the past, it’s now on to the next thing in Day’s mind. That starts with corrections, including ones from McCord, as they prep to open league play this weekend against an undefeated Terrapin squad.

“It’s good to get that experience but I mean we all need to be more efficient,” Day said. “We need to finish drives off better. There’s a lot of plays he wishes he had back the other night but now we’re moving forward.

“We’re after the bye week, we addressed all of those things, and, now, the focus is on Maryland.”