Quick hitters from Ryan Day's Indiana postgame press conference

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Ohio State is 1-0. That’s the bottom line, and head coach Ryan Day made that clear Saturday. He also made it clear that there is significant room for his Buckeyes to grow, especially offensively.

Lettermen Row has the rundown of what Day said in his postgame press conference following the 23-3 win.

First thoughts: Buckeyes beat Indiana in season-opening slog

Five Moments: Ohio State pulls away from Hoosiers after Kyle McCord finds rhythm

Rapid Reaction: Buckeyes open season with rocky win at Indiana

What Ryan Day said after the Ohio State win over the Hoosiers…

• When asked about Kyle McCord taking practically all of the offensive snaps Saturday at Indiana, Day said he would have liked to play quarterback Devin Brown more than he did (Brown played three snaps in the first half, and he didn’t attempt a pass on any of those).

• Day: “I was worried that we weren’t gonna be able to get into rhythm. We already felt a little clunky early on, missed some short-yardage situations, didn’t convert on some third downs. And so I didn’t want to run the risk of putting ourselves in a bad spot by continuing to move those guys in and out.”

• Day reiterated that he’s got to do what’s right for the team. Against the Hoosiers Saturday, that meant not rotating McCord and Brown nearly as much as he had planned.

• Day was asked why he rolled the dice on 4th-and-2 on the Indiana 29-yard line in the second quarter. He said that was probably on the “outer edge” of Jayden Fielding’s field goal range. Day said if the Buckeyes were 10 yards closer, he would have opted for a field goal. He said he was disappointed Ohio State didn’t convert.

• Day said it was a “mixed bag” offensive performance. He noted they have to finish better in the red zone, on third down and in short-yardage situations. Day liked the offensive balance (36 passes, 31 runs), but he wants to run the football better. If it was up to him, every running back would be north of five or six yards per carry, not just Chip Trayanum.

• Day reminded himself mid-thought about the offense: “It’s okay for me to be excited about great defense. I thought our defense played really well, and so I’m excited about that.” Day noted the length of this year’s defense and the disruption caused by the Buckeyes’ defensive line Saturday.

• When asked about how the play-calling went with Brian Hartline as offensive coordinator, Day — who is already on record saying he will be handling the majority of those duties, at least early on — described it as a “team effort.” He said that the conversations with Hartline on the sideline were constant, especially during TV and injury timeouts. Day added that run game coordinator and offensive line coach Justin Frye was part of the process, too. But Day made the point that everything offensively needs to be evaluated after putting up only 23 points.

• Day was then asked what he thought of McCord’s performance: “I thought in the third quarter during those couple of drives, he got in a rhythm and made some nice throws.” Day noted McCord’s throw to wideout Marvin Harrison Jr. that went for a touchdown before it was called back because of illegal touching (which Day said he wanted to check the tape on). Regardless, Day liked the resolve of McCord to still get the Buckeyes to the end zone on that drive. Day also found McCord’s 49-yard pass to tight end Cade Stover impressive.

• When asked about a potential running back-by-committee, Day emphasized that TreVeyon Henderson is the starter. Miyan Williams and Trayanum are right there, too, but Henderson is RB1. Day said that, since it was hot Saturday in Bloomington, it was good that running backs coach Tony Alford rotated his guys. Day acknowledged that Dallan Hayden didn’t play much against the Hoosiers but that he will be needed this season.

• When asked about slow Week 1 starts the last few years, Day agreed that it’s been the case for the Buckeyes. He called upon Justin Fields’ first Ohio State game, a start against FAU, as well as C.J. Stroud’s first start, a road opener at Minnesota. He said in those instances, like Saturday at Indiana with Kyle McCord, the most important thing is finding a way to win — not just for the quarterback but for the whole team. It’s the start of, in Day’s words, “the journey.” But what you can’t do, Day said, is be reckless and take a bunch of chances. He said, going forward, there will be times where Ohio State will have to be more aggressive.

• Day was then asked about how McCord responded to the interception he threw. Day said he’s not going to blame his quarterback on that, particularly because it was fourth down and not how the Buckeyes drew up that situation. “That was a fourth down deal,” Day said. He wants to go back and watch the film to have a better evaluation of McCord’s play.

• Day said his plan was to get Brown in for the third series as well as the fifth or sixth series. “It just didn’t quite work out that way, so we’ll reevaluate it this week.” Day saw it take McCord a bit to get into the groove of the game. He didn’t want to risk Brown going through the same thing and letting Indiana hang around. So, after Brown’s first drive, Day trusted his gut and stuck with McCord until the game was all but over.

• Day, when asked about the offensive line, said, “I know where we need to be. We’re not there yet, for sure.” He said he gives Indiana head coach Tom Allen and co-DC/safeties coach Matt Guerrieri (the Hoosiers’ play-caller) some credit. They changed stuff up and gave Ohio State some creative looks. Day expects his offensive line to consistently help his team run for 250 yards and throw for 300 yards. As a collective unit, that didn’t happen Saturday in Bloomington, so they’ll go back to work.