Ryan Day didn’t shy away from saying the quiet part out loud about Ohio State’s matchup with Indiana
The Ohio State Buckeyes will have their third tough matchup on paper Saturday when they host No. 5 Indiana in a Big Ten battle. One thing is for sure about the Buckeyes, they will be battle-tested by the time the College Football Playoff runs around. Indiana is a surprise team to all this year and […]
The Ohio State Buckeyes will have their third tough matchup on paper Saturday when they host No. 5 Indiana in a Big Ten battle. One thing is for sure about the Buckeyes, they will be battle-tested by the time the College Football Playoff runs around.
Indiana is a surprise team to all this year and they will come into Columbus with a perfect 10-0 record. The Buckeyes have one loss on their resume from earlier in the season when they fell to Oregon, 32-31.
Ohio State has multiple goals this season and one of them is to win the Big Ten. If the Buckeyes want to reach the Big Ten Championship game, they have to take care of business against Indiana. That makes this weekend a playoff kind of game for the Buckeyes. Ohio State’s Ryan Day didn’t shy away from the task ahead.
"Our guys are fired up for this one,” Day said on Tuesday. “They know that this is a must-win for us. We have to win this game to play in Indianapolis. The team, the coaches, everybody in this building, the fans know what kind of game this is. We got to bring it on Saturday."
Two regular season games remain for the Buckeyes and they have to beat Michigan next week as well to likely play Oregon in Indianapolis for the Big Ten title. Indiana has earned the right to be taken seriously this year. Even with a weak schedule, a 10-0 record is impressive for the Hoosiers.
Ohio State will need to do some offensive line shuffling following the season-ending injury to center Seth McLaughlin. The Buckeyes don’t have starting left tackle Josh Simmons either, who was lost for the season against Oregon. When it comes to the biggest worry in this game, it will be the offensive line and getting it done for the first time without McLaughlin.
If Ohio State plays their game on Saturday, they should take care of the Hoosiers. A slow start by the Buckeyes is going to make for a battle that could go down to the wire. That is what Ohio State must avoid.
