Ryan Day pushes back on revenge narrative: 'It's about execution'

Ryan Day isn’t willing to reminisce about Ohio State’s earlier loss to Oregon ahead of Quarterfinal showdown against the Ducks in the College Football Playoff.

Back on Oct. 12, Oregon survived a scare in Eugene against the Buckeyes, winning by a score of 32-31. Now, with their rematch slated for the Rose Bowl, Day pushed back on the narrative that Ohio State is looking for revenge, believing his team is more focused on what they can control in Pasadena.

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“It’s about execution. It’s about our preparation,” Day said, regarding the narrative that Ohio State is on a revenge tour. “It’s about how we go about our meetings, how we go about our walkthroughs, how we go about our practices, so that when we get out to Pasadena, we’re executing at a high level. That’s what it comes down to. Is it, you know, super exciting? I guess not, but that’s what it is. Our guys have played this team before, so there’s a reference point. I think we’re both — both teams are in different places than they were when we played last time. I think we’re different. But still, the players are the same. There’s a lot to, you know, grab onto, when you’re watching film of somebody you’ve already played against.

“Sometimes when you are playing against, you know, a team, maybe from another conference in the Playoff, there’s a little bit of an unknown. How can you expect this guy to play? What am I really looking at when I look at the teams that they’re playing? You know, this team’s not that way, because we played them already, and they played in the conference. So, you know, there’s — again, a reference point, as we move into this one. Our guys know we’re up against, but they also know that they’ve evolved, and we’ve evolved. So, two very different teams heading into this game. The team who prepares the best is going to win.”

Continuing, Day is of the opinion that the effect the prior showdown in 2024 will have on the game is being overblown. He believes neither Ohio State nor Oregon are the same, and you’re going to see a different clash of styles on New Year’s Day.

“It’s not like we played them just a couple weeks ago,” Day added. “That was mid-season, and there’s been a lot of football played since then. So like I said, I feel like, you know, we’ve evolved, they’ve evolved, different teams. There are certainly things that you want to look at that, you know, happen in that game, but also as times moved on, how they’ve changed, how we’ve changed, and then how does that fit, you know, as we put together the game plan.

“Ultimately, we want to make sure that we’re putting together a great game plan, so our guys can play fast. They understand what we’re trying to get done in terms of attacking in all three phases, and then they can play with emotion and physicality.”

Regardless, Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes have a ton of pressure on them to get the job done in the Rose Bowl against Oregon. It remains to be seen if they can get the win, but there’s not a coach left standing in the country with more to lose.