Scarlet Sunrise: Ryan Day expresses confidence in defense despite struggles at Oregon

COLUMBUS — Ohio State head coach Ryan Day faced some tough questions on Tuesday during his first full media appearance since the Buckeyes’ loss to Oregon on Oct. 12.

One of them: Does Day still have confidence in Jim Knowles and the Ohio State defensive coaching staff? Day made sure to express his confidence in the unit — and especially Knowles — despite the struggles against the Ducks.

“I go in the meeting and I have hard conversations with everybody and I know what the plan is moving forward and I’m involved in that plan,” Day said Tuesday. “I got confidence in all those guys on that side of the ball and I know what we need to get done and we’re going to get it done.”

Ohio State has a chance to rebound this weekend against Nebraska. And the Buckeyes are confident the defense can bounce back in a big way — and make the necessary changes to end up winning a championship.

Buckeyes star left tackle Josh Simmons officially out for season with knee injury

Just a little more than a week after losing to Oregon in the biggest game of the season so far, Ohio State has been hit with brutal news along the offensive line.

Buckeyes star left tackle and potential high draft pick Josh Simmons will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury. Ryan Day confirmed the news on his weekly press conference on Tuesday.

Simmons went down on the field at Autzen Stadium on Saturday night on the final play of the first quarter in the Buckeyes 32-31 loss to Oregon. He was carted off the field, taken into the locker room and held out for the rest of the game.

Backup left tackle Zen Michalski came into the marquee road game and played 46 snaps, a career high. He finished the game with a 47.6 PFF grade, the lowest grade for any Buckeyes offensive player.

ICYMI: Buckeyes still among top favorites to win national title

Ohio State suffered a last-second loss to Oregon in Autzen Stadium and then just had a week off to recalibrate and refocus.

The folks in the desert still believe the Buckeyes are the best team in the Big Ten — and still among the favorites to win the national title.

FanDuel Sportsbook has officially updated its national championship odds now that the latest week of college football is wrapped up. And Ohio State has the third-best odds to win the national title despite the loss.

Georgia is the back to the top as the betting favorite. The Bulldogs are +330 to win the national championship after their road win at Texas. They’re followed by Ohio State, which is unchanged from last week (+450). Texas is right behind the Buckeyes at +500. The team which beat Ohio State, Oregon, now has title odds at +500 after the one-point win over the Buckeyes — the biggest regular season win in Ducks program history — and then a win over Purdue.

Penn State sits currently at +1200 odds to win it all. The Nittany Lions will host Ohio State on Nov. 2.

Counting down

Buckeyes vs. Nebraska: 3 days
Ohio State at Penn State: 10 days
Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 38 days
Big Ten title game: 45 days

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