Ryan Day previews first road trip, says it will be hard to win at Michigan State
Ohio State has yet to play outside the confines of the Horseshoe this season, settling in and pretty comfortably cruising to a 5-0 record. That all changes this week when the Buckeyes travel to East Lansing to play a wounded Michigan State team, and head coach Ryan Day knows it’s another important milestone.
Despite the Spartans losing three straight and failing to find answers on defense, Day knows his team will be tested on the road in ways that just don’t happen during home games.
“Going on the road, tough place to play. Certainly a great stadium, great environment, and you know, it’s going to be hard to win up there. It always is,” Day said. “And this is the first time we’re going on the road so new challenge for us, new test. It’s been unique that we’re in to Week 6 here and haven’t played a game on the road. It’s been great, we’ve gotten in to good rhythm. But now, we’ve gotta go get our first conference road game.”
When these teams got together last season in Columbus, it was a highly-anticipated Top 10 matchup, featuring Heisman hopefuls — C.J. Stroud and Kenneth Walker III — and carried conference title implications. It was over in a flash, with the Buckeyes razing the Michigan State defense and scoring 49 points in the first half. A 49-0 halftime margin was easily parlayed into a 56-7 win.
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When considering the Michigan State team the Buckeyes are facing this year, as opposed to the one Ohio State burned down last year, Day respected his opponent.
To be fair, the level of respect from Day is also a professional necessity. It’s not shared by Vegas, where the latest point spread in the game is 27 points, according to Vegas Insider.
“They’ve had a couple injuries here and there but they’re still very much the same team they were last year,” Day said. “A lot of those guys are back, so I know they’ve lost a couple games here but we’re expecting a Top 10 team when we go up to East Lansing. Well coached, really good players. Excellent season last year and those guys are still there. So, it’s going to be hard, just like it always is, and we know that we’ve got our hands full this week.”