BY MARCUS HARTMAN
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Top-ranked Ohio State is rested twice over and preparing to finish the regular season with a five-game stretch that culminates in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The Buckeyes’ open weekends (Sept. 20 and Oct. 25) essentially broke the season into thirds for coach Ryan Day and his staff.
They focused extensive energy on the season-opening visit from Texas, faced Grambling State and Ohio University, and then got a break. After facing Washington, Minnesota, Illinois and Wisconsin, Ohio State (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) got another day off last weekend.
Now it’s Penn State, Purdue, UCLA, Rutgers and 21st-ranked rivalMichigan.
Day’s plan is for this final stretch to lead to a defense of last year’s national championship in the College Football Playoff.
First up, a visit from Penn State
The Nittany Lions (3-4, 0-4) began the season ranked No. 2 behind Texas (one spot ahead of Ohio State) but are unranked this week after losing four games in a row and having coach James Franklin fired.
Day came to his weekly press conference Tuesday armed with coaching cliches: Penn State is better than its record, which doesn’t matter anyway because the Buckeyes are more focused on what they’re doing.
“We know that this is one of the top 5, 10 teams in the country. I don’t think there’s many teams in the country that have more talent than Penn State has, and I think people recognized that early in the season,” Day said of the Nittany Lions.
After coming up just short in overtime against Oregon on Sept. 27, Penn State was upset at UCLA and at home against Northwestern.
Senior quarterback Drew Allar suffered a season-ending ankle injury against the Wildcats. Franklin was fired within a day of the loss.
Last week, Penn State lost 25-24 at Iowa under interim coach Terry Smith and new starting QB Ethan Grunkemeyer.
“Sure, it hasn’t gone the way they’ve wanted it to, but that doesn’t change that they still have really good players, and when you looked at this game a few months ago, it was an absolute matchup game,” Day said. “That has not changed. It’s still the same players other than the quarterback. And so our guys know that. They understand that. And they know that it’s about us. It’s not about our opponent.”
Buckeyes see room for improvement
Day’s team is No. 1 in the country in total defense and scoring defense while the offense has been brought along more slowly with first-year quarterback Julian Sayin and play-caller Brian Hartline.
Among the areas Day wants to see improve is the Ohio State running game, which ranks 71st in the nation in yards per game (151.7) and 51st in yards per carry (4.58).
Knowles returns to Columbus
Penn State also has struggled to stop the run, allowing 158.7 yards per game (90th nationally) under new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, who ditched the Buckeyes in that same role to coach for the Nittany Lions.
His return is among the subplots to the game Saturday as the teams face off for the 33rd consecutive season.
“Like any relationship when it breaks off, sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad, but there really hasn’t been much communication,” Day said. “He did a great job when he was here, helped us win a national championship and kind of left it at that. And then it was, ‘Hey, we got to go make a replacement and move on from there.’ So I really respect the work that he did when he was here.”
Asked if Knowles leaving for another Big Ten team was different than going somewhere else, Day replied, “I guess when you look at the NFL, you see more of that than you would in college, but I guess we’re getting more like the NFL. So we try not to take those things personal, but we are human.”
