Quick hitters from Ryan Day Week 6 press conference

COLUMBUS — Ohio State head coach Ryan Day met with the media Tuesday to talk about the Buckeyes’ off week as well as their Week 6 matchup against Maryland.

The Terrapins are 5-0 for the first time since 2001 and last year gave Ohio State a scare in College Park.

In Columbus, however, Ohio State has had Maryland’s number since Day took over.

What Ryan Day said Tuesday…

• Day, when asked about QB sneaks, said opponents try to always take away that play from short-yardage situations. It’s in their short-yardage package, but they have to be tactical when they use it. “If we thinks it gives us a chance, we’ll do it,” Day said.

• Day added that they have to be north of 80% on 3rd-and-1 and 3rd-and-2. “We need to be better,” Day said. You got to win your 1-on-1 matchups down there, regardless if you’re on offense or defense. In big games, a lot of it comes down to short yardage, Day emphasized.

• Day, when asked about Kyle McCord and the big moment he had at Notre Dame, said that McCord — despite obviously delivering in critical stages — has to grow and get better in a lot of different areas. Day said the whole offense needs to be more efficient and finish drives off.

• Day said now that we’re four games into the season, you’re starting to see the leadership and team personality take off. “We’ve got a lot of football ahead of us,” Day said.

• Day, when asked about potential off week changes from last year, said he gave his Ohio State team some time to rest their minds and bodies. Day said they tweaked a little bit how they’re practicing in the game week after the off week.

• Day confirmed that he’s expecting Marvin Harrison Jr. to be full go this week after suffering an ankle injury at Notre Dame.

• Day said the Maryland defense is strong up front and athletic on the back end. He said the safeties are playing well and the corners are excellent. They don’t give up a lot of big plays, and they create turnovers.

• Day said Ohio State’s matchup at Maryland will center around the line of scrimmage. Day said generating a pass rush and getting pressure on Terrapins quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa will be important.

• Day said Ohio State took a step in the right direction and is still building, in regard to putting more on McCord’s plate.

• Day, when asked about his Lou Holtz comments, said he didn’t want to dive into it a lot Tuesday — but he said he’s proud of the team for being 2-0 against Notre Dame the last two years, and he said the feedback he’s gotten from the Buckeye community has been awesome.

• Day was asked about Ohio State’s improvement in terms of giving up fewer explosives. He said the Buckeyes aren’t going to adopt a bend-but-don’t-break approach. Day added that coordinator Jim Knowles has a great defensive mind and will still be aggressive with blitzes, even if they are less frequent than last year.

• Day said Ohio State needs to start faster and be more efficient earlier on in the run game with runs of four, five and six yards.

• Day said that he was proud of how Ohio State defensive ends Jack Sawyer and J.T. Tuimoloau played at Notre Dame against two great offensive tackles (they each played all 65 defensive snaps, per Pro Football Focus). Day noted that you wanted to have depth on the defensive line but that those two made an impact, especially Tuimoloau on the Buckeyes’ final defensive series (first a TFL, then a pass breakup).

• Day said he thinks a lot of guys gained significant confidence coming out of the Notre Dame game. But Day noted that his guys know how talented Maryland is. “This team definitely has our team’s attention,” Day said of Maryland.