Ryan Day, Ohio State trying to avoid looking ahead entering Maryland game

The Game is almost upon us. With the college football season winding down, it’s almost time for rivalry weekend and that means the latest edition of Ohio State vs. Michigan is on the horizon. The attention that game draws can take away from the Buckeyes and the Wolverines as they make their way toward the end of the year. However, Ryan Day says he and his staff have done their best to take away from the pressure of that game by applying it every week.

During his press conference on Tuesday, Day talked about Ohio State’s attempt to focus on their next game rather than look ahead to the Top-3 matchup coming in two weekends. He says he needs his team to understand that this build-up of energy for the last game of the year is just what comes with being a Buckeye. All he wants is for them to keep their eyes on the prize. That starts with handling business against Maryland this upcoming Saturday.

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“I think it’s something that comes up every week. It comes up every year this time of the year…We’ve been saying this all along. March Madness starts the first week of the season around here. So you just have to embrace that and understand what it means to bring it every single week,” said Day. “We’re working for the game at the end of the year every day out of the year. That’s not something that is out of the ordinary to know that that’s always in the back of our minds. That’s like that every week.”

“Our focus right now is on Maryland. Going down there at 3:30, playing really good football, and then going from there.”

Ohio State’s game against the Wolverines will obviously hold a ton of weight. Beyond bragging rights, it will determine who will represent the Big Ten East in the conference title game. That also means it will determine which of the two will represent the Big Ten in the College Football Playoff. Considering it played out the same way a season ago in favor of Michigan, that only adds more fuel to what is already a massive fire burning underneath the Buckeyes.

However, some of the stress this game has accumulated will be taken off if either team stumbles the week before. That’s why Day wants his team to treat this week as business as usual. They’re more than prepared for what’s to come in Columbus on November 26th. For now, they just need to worry about going to College Park and winning against the Terrapins.