Ryan Day shares how weather is impacting Ohio State's game plan

When Ohio State plays Northwestern in Evanston at noon on Saturday, the gusting wind coming off Lake Michigan and predicted heavy precipitation might do as much to slow the Buckeyes offense as the Wildcats lowly defense does.

With Ryan Field expected to be a wet, windy place for most of the game — 80% chance of rain, gusts up to 50 miles per hour and steady at 25-30 miles per hour — Ohio State head coach Ryan Day detailed what the Buckeyes have done to prep. Aside from the classic wet ball drill, Ohio State has made sure to practice outside in the wind and elements.

“So in terms of the wind, we’ve practiced in the wind. It’s been very windy the last few weeks here, we’ve had some really windy days. And we played the game up in East Lansing and it was about 20, 22 mile an hour winds at times,” Day said. “This one is calling for more than that, so we’ll have to adjust. But we practice in that weather. This week, in terms of the water, we do have wet ball drills where we squirt water on the ball before the snap, just to get that feel for it.”

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Feel is as about as much as Ohio State will get from the wet ball drill. Day explained that it can’t be overdone, or the balls get waterlogged and can mess with the quarterbacks ability to throw properly.

“The ball starts to get heavy and can affect the quarterback’s throwing motion — we don’t want to do that. But we do mix it in there, and then we also practice in the elements so that when days like this come up that we’re able to handle it,” Day said.

And as much as Ohio State has to deal with the condition, Day reminded reporters that the opponent has to deal with them, too. Not that Day would have it this way, but the Buckeyes could struggle and if Northwestern struggles more, that would suffice.

Either way, he knows there’s no excuse not to be prepared for any sort of weather when you’re playing in the Big Ten in November.

“I always say that the biggest thing is we just have to handle it better than our opponent, because they have to deal with it as well. And, if it’s extreme, then we have to make adjustments,” Day said. “I don’t know if it’ll be extreme. Certainly, though, the weather doesn’t look great. The forecast doesn’t look very promising, so we’re starting to talk about some of the ideas and thoughts in all three phases. But, that’s why you plan like this and you have balance in game planning because in November the weather is unpredictable in the Big Ten.”