Quick hitters from Ryan Day Week 8 press conference

COLUMBUS — Ohio State head coach Ryan Day met with the media Tuesday to talk about the No. 3 Buckeyes’ 41-7 win at Purdue as well as their Week 8 matchup versus No. 7 Penn State.

What Ryan Day said Tuesday…

+ Day, when asked about Kyle McCord facing pressure, said the most important thing is protecting the football. Ohio State needs to take care of the ball across the board, Day said. He noted that his players need to know when they have to cut their losses and not make bad plays any worse.

+ Day said his players understand what the intensity of this game against Penn State is going to be.

+ Day, when asked about the increase of pre-snap motion and offensive creativity, said the pictures change for both the offense and the defense with that pre-snap motion. Every week, they’re going to add more and more to this offense. Day said McCord has responded well to that.

+ Day was asked about McCord throwing off his back foot more often than usual at Purdue. He noted that when a team brings one player more than you can block, a quarterback sometimes has to drift away when making a throw. There were other times at Purdue where that wasn’t the case, but there were occasions when he probably drifted too much, Day acknowledged.

+ Day praised Penn State’s Drew Allar and called him a “big, strong” quarterback. He said Allar — an Ohio native — has a bright future ahead of him.

+ Day, when asked about the Penn State defense, said you can see the turnovers they’re creating. “It’s not like they haven’t played against anybody,” Day said. He noted you can zero in on the 1-on-1 matchups in games and see the talent they have.

+ Day said Dallan Hayden ran the ball well, and the offensive line did a better job of creating holes at Purdue. He noted how well Hayden’s feet were moving in that game. “We’re happy with the way he played on Saturday,” Day said.

+ When asked about the health of TreVeyon Henderson, Miyan Williams and others, Day said he’s “hopeful” he’ll have all of those guys back for the game against Penn State.

+ Day wants Ohio State fans to make it as loud as possible this weekend against Penn State.

+ Day was asked about not having Emeka Egbuka at Purdue. He said that it was a loss. He noted the Buckeyes’ depth at wide receiver, though. Day said Xavier Johnson graded out as a “champion” and then complimented his versatility. “You got to figure out a way to get it done,” Day said of the injuries Ohio State faced last weekend — running back Chip Trayanum also got hurt mid-game.

+ When asked about the redshirt situation with Hayden, Day said they’ll make that decision when it has to be made. They’re trying to do what’s best for the team to win games. Day was asked a follow-up about Hayden and his ball security, and Day said that’s not been an issue for him.

+ Day said the package with backup quarterback Devin Brown helps equate numbers in the red zone. But Day emphasized that Brown can also throw it — notably, he tossed a 58-yard touchdown to Brandon Inniss at the end of the game. Day said he thought Brown ran hard and competed. He said they’ll continue to build on that package and wanted to flush out any potential mistakes with it last week at Purdue.

+ Weather is in question again this week. That’s part of playing Big Ten football in October and November, Day said. They have to be prepared to execute their whole offense.

+ Day said the Penn State EDGEs are very twitchy and very quick — Day said they’ll be the biggest test, in that department, the Buckeyes have seen this season. Ohio State’s tackles are going to have to do a great job. Penn State moves fronts and blitzes pretty heavily.

+ Day was asked for a midseason assessment of where his guys are at right now. He said it’s hard for him to say because Saturday is such a big game, and that’s where their focus is at the moment. He’ll have a better answer after Saturday, he said.

+ Day said he thinks this team likes to get coached hard. They respond well to hard coaching, Day added. This is a tough game, and there’s a lot riding on it — he said it’s his job to bring it every week. “I think the guys like to see the passion,” Day said.

+ Day was asked about McCord on the zone-read. “If we can add that part to the game, that certainly helps a lot,” Day said.

+ Day was asked about the more balanced zone/gap scheme split in the run game at Purdue. He said it was partly based on the matchup versus Purdue — and its five-man defensive front — and partly based on a self-scout of what this offensive line can do best. Ohio State, traditionally, has been a predominately wide zone team under Day.

+ Day said his team has the pen to write the script of the rest of the season.