Jaxbuck said:

You have to be rock solid in your belief in that efficiency.

You think about it though, and I'm glad you brought his up because it's been one thing I've been looking at all year the same way as you-like what in the hell is he doing? ...it's a refinement of Tresselball.

The old school, defense and field position philosophy was always said to be the "surest path to victory" and I argued my ass off during the Tressel years that that was no longer the case. Offenses have gotten better, they won't make as many self inflicted wounds if you just try to keep it in front of you and protect a 7 point lead with a rested defense.

Early Urban Meyer philosophy was score in volume and fuck resting the defense. Defense is there to get the offense the ball back. This was a swing too far the other way and all that volume dilutes the efficiency.

This is the perfect update, if you are going to compete on skill, because you are beating people with a rate stat while 95% of them are still thinking in absolute numbers/counting stats. "We ran for more yards, we will win"

This approach is sort of like saying I can hold my breath longer than you so I'm going to take air out of the room and wait for you to keel over.

It's fascinating to me and once I saw it, I was even more impressed with the change in Day. It's fucking ruthless and smart. I love it.

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cincibuck said:

Re: Refs. The chippy shit starts immediately. I haven’t watched that much of Michigan, but I recall #7 throwing punches “trying to knock the ball out” in the Oklahoma game and only getting called on it once. Pulled the same shit in the USC game and it‘s not called. Throws about four punches on one of Jackson’s early runs.

Other Michigan players are pushing and shoving after every play.

Buck’s second series, Sayin hits Jackson who carries it to the 50. #10 runs at least ten yards to get in Jackson‘s grill and begins to mouth off.

I understand the refs trying not to get into the game and I’m watching with a bias, but it looked to me like Michigan was trying to goad the Bucks into a fight. My question is why the refs didn’t call both coaches out to midfield for a come to Jesus meeting; knock off the bull shit or we start throwing flags and tossing players - BEFORE the head butting incident.

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billmac91 said:

I’d just say….

Do you know the insane amount of convincing this must have taken for Day to agree to this…

It’s not in his nature and never was….until this year. It’s been the right call though….

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RuGettinIt said:

Hey glad you got your guy.

The dude literally shit the bed at every major coaching stop.

So, good luck with that. Hopefully the buyout isn’t big.

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Jaxbuck said:

I think it's actually ruthlessly smart, he's saying my #1 weapon is my teams skill which manifests itself in stats as efficiency.

When you gain more yards and points per play than opponents and convert third downs better then it's counter intuitive genius to limit the number of plays because you get so much more out of every play than they do.

Forget taking air out of the ball, you are taking it from their lungs.

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billmac91 said:

Wanted to comment on something I’ve found extremely unique to this years team….

We run the fewest amount of plays per game. It’s insanely counter-intuitive, as Day always liked a bit of tempo and to maximize amount of possessions. And common wisdom is, if you have the better players, you want more possessions bc over the course of a game, the extra possessions will favor the better team.

But Day has been pretty pissed over last few years over the amount of possessions per game when a team slows pace and tries to shorten game.

To his credit, he gave up on trying to increase possessions per game, and focused on maximizing points per possession. And to maximize that stat, they take more time between plays to make sure they will execute play to its maximum potential. They play slower but execute at a higher level.

I found this strategy to be very odd as it played out throughout season, but I’ll give him his flowers. It’s not necessarily the most exciting, but it has worked extremely well. It’s like he’s beating our opponents at their game….with much better players. He took lemons and made lemonade…

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Onebuckfan said:

Just for context Michigan ran 42 plays and Stanford ran 70 against Notre Dame. Our D rests during games.

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buckeyemania11 said:

It's gonna be hard for them to lure in great WR talent from the portal. The offense is not WR friendly and they presumably have a #1 WR in Marsh for the next 2-3 years.

Being the #2 WR on scUM you are like the 4th option in the passing game of a heavy rush offense with the amount of times they check down to the TEs and RBs

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billmac91 said:

Wanted to comment on something I’ve found extremely unique to this years team….

We run the fewest amount of plays per game. It’s insanely counter-intuitive, as Day always liked a bit of tempo and to maximize amount of possessions. And common wisdom is, if you have the better players, you want more possessions bc over the course of a game, the extra possessions will favor the better team.

But Day has been pretty pissed over last few years over the amount of possessions per game when a team slows pace and tries to shorten game.

To his credit, he gave up on trying to increase possessions per game, and focused on maximizing points per possession. And to maximize that stat, they take more time between plays to make sure they will execute play to its maximum potential. They play slower but execute at a higher level.

I found this strategy to be very odd as it played out throughout season, but I’ll give him his flowers. It’s not necessarily the most exciting, but it has worked extremely well. It’s like he’s beating our opponents at their game….with much better players. He took lemons and made lemonade…

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Jaxbuck said:

My main point is that whatever an opponent does after you play them is out of your control and should have zero impact on your season from there.

What if their QB gets hurt, or a scum bag coach leaves in the middle of the night and takes his staff with him? Anything can happen after you beat a team, why would you possibly want to open the door for any of that to punish you? I am all for scheduling changes but that is not anything I ever want to see get implemented.

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Zurp said:

Aw hell. I don't want to defend them.
But no one won in 2020. We all know what should have happened. We all know what did happen. But we didn't win. So the previous time Ohio State won was 2019. It's a loophole that makes them sound awesome, and they're technically correct.
And it's the number of days since Ohio State beat the cheaters. So, right now, it has been 1 day since Ohio State beat the cheaters. Start counting, because it will get up around 365 days since Ohio State beat the cheaters. It's currently around 365 days since the cheaters beat Ohio State.

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1926Buckeyes said:

Surprised they’re that young. Outside of the 3 underclassmen you mentioned, most of their key players are upperclassmen or out of eligibility. They’ll have to use the portal to create depth at QB and RB, unless they plan on Kuzdzal being the backup until Hiter is ready. Same at DL and LB.

I’m also not sure how much Underwood improving will help a grind-it-out offense. He isn’t athletic enough to take over a game, and they either don’t want him to or he’s not willing to run enough to supplement the RBs. If he does improve, they still need a good passing scheme and more than 1 good WR.

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Bestbuck36 said:

We're going to win with humility. - Ryan Day

That shit will never be part of the scum mantra

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Presser Bullets: Ohio State's Already Moved on to Indiana After The Game, Curt Cignetti Calls Ryan Day a Future Legend of College Football

Ryan Day and Ohio State's focus has already shifted to the Big Ten title game, and Indiana's Curt Cignetti says Day will go down as "one of the legends of the game someday."

www.elevenwarriors.com

Moved on to Indiana After The Game, Curt Cignetti Calls Ryan Day a Future Legend of College Football​

Ryan Day​

• Day said in his opening that the Buckeyes are "very, very excited" to go back to Indianapolis.
• On the routine of last week and whether it helped in The Game: "I think every year is different, every team is different. ... When you look at the end of the year and assess the things that you've done well and the things that you need to improve on, you have to look at what's best for your team. ... It wasn't just one thing. There were several things that we looked to on the field, off the field, all of the above. ... You want to make sure you're doing everything you can to keep the routine the routine. There's enough that goes into that game and enough emotion that goes into that game."
• Day said that "it's a long road" still left for Ohio State to achieve its final two goals: Win the Big Ten championship and win the national championship. "I've been on teams before where you're looking to make it to the playoffs or you're happy to make a bowl game, then I think you take your foot off the accelerator. ... This thing is going to the end of January is the way you have to look at it."
• On Cignetti's accomplishments at Indiana: "He's adapted to modern times. He certainly has taken a roster and turned it over quickly and brought in some really talented players. ... He's been aggressive and he's been able to turn over his roster and bring in a lot of talent in a short period of time. ... They're well-coached. They have a plan of how they want to attack you in all three phases, and they're not going to beat themselves."
• On Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza: "I've watched Mendoza play in a lot of the crossover games, I've seen a little bit of the TV copy. ... He looks very intelligent in terms of his ability to identify pre- and post-snap (defensive scheme). ... Sneaky athletic ... and he looks like a great leader to me. ... It's gonna be a great challenge for our defense."
• Ohio State continues to use a methodical pace to keep its players as healthy as possible for the long season. "The games are increasing and the roster size is getting smaller. ... Manage the workload the best we can."
• There's a lot of motivation for the Buckeyes to win their first Big Ten title since 2020. "It's been a long time since we've been to Indy and we want to win this thing."
• Ryan Day still enjoys the idea of a conference championship game, but wants to make sure it makes sense with how long a season is. "We want to be the 1 seed going into the playoffs, and that's what we're fighting for. ... I do think it's important for us to be thinking about how this game does affect the playoffs. ... And I think winning your conference is a big deal. ... It should mean something. And I think it does. But I do think, if it's gonna stay the way it is at 12 or if it's gonna expand, that it's all in alignment."
• Day does feel both teams should get a first-round bye in the CFP, win or lose. "You're not supposed to be penalized for winning a conference championship game, so I think both deserve a first-round bye. ... I think it's important to win this game and be the 1-seed, everything matters."
• On being called a future legend of the game by Cignetti and his thoughts on the opposing coach: "That's quite a compliment and I appreciate him saying that. ... Got a lot of football to coach before any of those types of conversations. One thing about Coach Cignetti, he grew up in a football family. I have a respect for the way he grew up. ... He just has a feel of the game. When you grow up in this game, you have a feel for people, you have a feel for situations. ... He's won wherever he's been. I know some people laugh at the comments, he's made, 'Google him,' but it's true. ... I've got a lot of respect for him. ... It's been great to see him as a competitor in the conference."
• The Buckeyes' players are already turning their attention to Indiana with their coach, too. "Regular season's over, now it's time to go ... we're playing for hardware. ... That's the other part about this team that I think is good. They saw the run that we went on last year. They saw what it takes."
• Day said Ohio State got a jumpstart on film study while waiting on the tarmac to take off in the team's charter plane. "The issues are still there. ... We gotta continue to make sure that we do this the right way."
• On Matt Patricia's ability to make adjustments on the fly: "Elite. He loves having the iPad, he didn't have that in the NFL. ... I think the thing is, when things are going well, OK, we talk about that. But when things don't go well ... he has the answers why. ... His communication and ability to identify what the issue is and get it addressed ... they can move on and go play the next down."

Curt Cignetti​

• On Ohio State: "They're a great football team, obviously won the national championship last season. ... Ryan Day is a great coach, going to be one of the legends of the game someday. ... Dominant everywhere ... giving up the fewest amount of points in the country. ... Really good on third down, fourth down, lot of different looks, put them in different positions to make plays. ... They really haven't been challenged this year. ... Other than the Texas game, I think, 18 points is the closest point differential in all their games."
• Cignetti doesn't feel either team should be guaranteed a bye in the College Football Playoff in the case of a loss. "It's gonna be a great atmosphere. They're playing this game for a reason. ... I don't expect any handouts. We've earned everything up until this point and we've gotta earn it on Saturday."
• On what he's learned from last year's loss at Ohio State: "It was an experience that was necessary for our development. ... We were able to add some key pieces to this year's team ... and I think the guys that returned from last year's team learned a lot from Ohio State and Notre Dame (games). ... We respect Ohio State, they're a great football team. What they've done speaks for itself."
• On the explosive nature of Ohio State's offense: "Julian Sayin is a tremendous football player. He's young, but doesn't play like he's young. He's got a quick release and he's accurate. .. Jeremiah Smith is probably the best player in college football ... they've got weapons through the air to make explosive plays and they're dedicated to establishing the run. ... Sometimes when you're watching, it's almost like they're holding back a little bit."
• Cignetti acknowledged that the moment was too big for Indiana at Ohio State last season, but said his team has overcome all the challenges it's faced in 2025. He pointed to the Hoosiers' win at then-No. 3 Oregon as a sign of program growth in road games against marquee opponents.

OregonBuckeye said:

What a difference a year makes

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lvbuckeye said:

I'm kinda pissed at the media and all the social media throwing around that "nearly 2200 days" streak that the Buckeyes hadn't beaten TCUN. While *technically* true, it was obviously fallacious, since those Blew bastards were counting since 2019 instead of 2021. They skipped The Game in 2020, yet count bitching out as a W for them (and added another year lol.) The REAL streak was 1,463 days, which is obviously unacceptable, but it tells the true story.

Meanwhile, the Buckeyes went 3,290 days from 2012 until 2021 without losing to those Blew bastards.

Anyway. Fuck those cheating fucks.

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