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CFP Title Game, Alabama vs tOSU, Jan 11, 8:15 ET on ESPN, Miami

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In his final coaches poll, Saban not only ranked Ohio State outside of the top four, which seems to indicate he didn't see the Buckeyes as worthy of a playoff spot, but he ranked them below Texas A&M – a team his Crimson Tide team beat 52-24 earlier in the season.
 
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RYAN DAY
  • Day says it's "quite an honor to be in the national championship game" and that it's "an unbelievable opportunity to play" Alabama and to get this chance after everything they've fought for this season.
  • On Justin Fields' health: "When you saw the way Justin finished the game, it was unbelievable. It was one of the gutsiest performances I've ever seen in person."
  • Day says Fields wasn't going to come off the field because "that's the way he's wired." Day said the next day Fields "felt better waking up in the morning than expected" on the morning after the Clemson game.
  • Having Chris Olave and Jaxon Smith-Njigba out for the Northwestern game, Day says, threw Fields and the Buckeye offense off rhythm.
  • Day said Fields has not faced much adversity but that Fields was "bothered" by the criticism after his Northwestern performance. He said it was a positive sign for Fields to overcome that and come through with a great game against Clemson.
  • Day says he "definitely expects" Fields to play against Alabama but would not give specifics about his injury.
  • On Trey Sermon's growth: "He didn't have the leadup a normal running back would have going into the season. ... And then he was coming off the injury. I don't know if he would say that, but those are the two things I look at."
  • He also says that Sermon was coming into a new offense while splitting carries with Master Teague and that may have affected Sermon's output early on: "It's really remarkable what he's done. ... He has a chance to go down with one of the best runs in Ohio State history."
  • Day says that the running game and passing game "go hand-in-hand" and that explosive passing plays don't come if the running game isn't effective.
  • Day: "We're gonna practice the way we normally practice. Nothing's gonna change."
  • So much of Ohio State's focus and effort this offseason seemed to be focused on beating Clemson, but Day says "The goal was never just to beat Clemson. The goal was to win the national championship. ... This is everything we've wanted."
  • On Nick Saban ranking Ohio State No. 5 in the coaches' poll: "I really don't look at those things too much. Definitely respect everyone's opinion, but what matters is playing in the game."
  • Day: “We're going to have to play even better than we did last week to beat Alabama.”
  • He says that he has "the utmost respect" for Saban's program and that you have to play your best in order to beat "the best in the world."
  • Day talked about Fields' toughness to come back from his injury in the Clemson game and compared it to when he returned to the field after his knee injury against Michigan last season.
 
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Ohio State went into the College Football Playoff semifinal against Clemson with the mindset it needed to play its best game of the season to beat the Tigers, and it’s taking that same mindset into the national championship game against Alabama.

There’s no question Ohio State played its best game of the year in the Sugar Bowl, putting up 49 points with a season-high 639 yards while holding Clemson to a season-low 28 points on 444 yards to earn a three-touchdown win over the Tigers. But as the Buckeyes now prepare to play Alabama, which is 12-0 this season and the No. 1 seed in the CFP, it’s uncertain whether even playing as well as they did in the Sugar Bowl will be enough for them to win the national championship.

So with one more week to practice and prepare before they play the Crimson Tide next Monday night in Miami, the Buckeyes have their sights set on getting even better.

“We said it going into the last game, we're going to have to play our best game. Well, we're going to have to even play better than we did last week to beat Alabama,” Ryan Day said Monday.

Ohio State middle linebacker Tuf Borland agrees with his coach’s assessment.

“We're going to have to play our best game this week,” Borland said. “We're going to have to find another level, for sure.”

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bukIpower said:
Didnt he break his ankle? He's not coming back.

Last update: per their rivals website.

Jaylen’s rehab is coming along,” Saban said on Monday. “He’s doing dry-land running. Still working to try to get back. But he is making progress. And we’re happy to see him be able to at least go out there and do some running and do some things, but he’s not back in practice yet.”

Sounds like he's a ways off.
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I don't know the specifics about what or where his ankle fracture was, but it isn't uncommon for an athlete (especially a highly skilled, trained athlete like Waddle) to come back from an ankle fracture 4-6 weeks after injury depending on what and where the fracture was at, and he's had that much time and more. If he fractured the non-weight bearing fibula, I have had HS athletes return in 4-5 weeks without any performance issues, and I'm sure Waddle is getting better rehab and more attention than an 18 year old female soccer player in HS.

Surprisingly, bone heals a lot quicker than some of the soft-tissue and ligamentous injuries that often hamper an athletes ability to return to 100% quickly. To your point about just starting land running. That is the more important aspect of this, and with the muscle atrophy that occurs with significant lay-off, it would be very unlikely that he be @ or near 100% if he is available next week. But a Waddle at 85% is still an additional weapon that the Bucks DB's would need to account for and Bama has plenty. Just like OSU's youngsters, just bc people have not heard of them doesn't mean they can't play.
 
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mendensa said:
I don't know the specifics about what or where his ankle fracture was, but it isn't uncommon for an athlete (especially a highly skilled, trained athlete like Waddle) to come back from an ankle fracture 4-6 weeks after injury depending on what and where the fracture was at, and he's had that much time and more. If he fractured the non-weight bearing fibula, I have had HS athletes return in 4-5 weeks without any performance issues, and I'm sure Waddle is getting better rehab and more attention than an 18 year old female soccer player in HS.

Surprisingly, bone heals a lot quicker than some of the soft-tissue and ligamentous injuries that often hamper an athletes ability to return to 100% quickly. To your point about just starting land running. That is the more important aspect of this, and with the muscle atrophy that occurs with significant lay-off, it would be very unlikely that he be @ or near 100% if he is available next week. But a Waddle at 85% is still an additional weapon that the Bucks DB's would need to account for and Bama has plenty. Just like OSU's youngsters, just bc people have not heard of them doesn't mean they can't play.
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Good info and thank you!!

Yeah just getting back today and expecting to be ready to play at this kind of a level is an extremely tall order. I'd be completely shocked if he plays and I'd be even more surprised if he's effective.
 
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What's gonna happen is gonna happen. It was easy for me to forget OSU beat Clemson without a starting OG and 2 of their top 4 DEs until the next day. Plus Fields' thumb, which was replaced by 70 broken ribs and, according to twitter, Day holding a gun to a puppy's head telling Justin he had no choice but to go back in and play.

Losing Togiai and Smith would be awful if true. But that just seems like the status quo so far this season. Hopefully it's not and everyone is healthy.
 
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