It's officially Week 11 for Ohio State as it looks to regain any momentum to close out the year, and keep its hopes alive, no matter how slim they are, for competing in the Big Ten title game and ultimately a chance at the College Football Playoff.
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day met with the media on Tuesday for his weekly game-week presser to review the Buckeyes' matchup with Oregon and look ahead to Northwestern. The Buckeyes' head coach discussed numerous topics, including quarterback play, lessons learned from last week, what needs to change, and a message to the team this week.
Here's a look at some of the standout notes and quotes he had.
Luke Fahey Remains The Starter
It hasn't been a pretty offensive performance in either of the last two games for the Buckeyes and that
comes at the hands of quarterback Luke Fahey. After taking over for the injured Julian Sayin, Fahey has back his first two starts in back-to-back weeks against ranked opponents in USC and Oregon -- both losses. Fahey has thrown for 620 yards with three touchdowns and one interception while completing 64.8 percent of his passes in his two starts. Decent numbers, but the lack of execution inside the red zone and from start to finish are glaring issues. The Buckeyes scored just 23 points in the first three quarters combined, with zero passing touchdowns. Ohio State's fourth-quarter touchdowns came with 3:25 remaining, 2:12 remaining and 44 seconds left. None of the three were impact plays or touchdowns.
So the question is; does Ohio State stick with Fahey moving forward. Day was adamant that he will be under center, but the evaluation process remains week-to-week.
"We're going to do whatever we can to win the game, what gives us the best chance, what gives the team the best chance to win the game," Day said. "... I go through a lot of different channels to get feedback on what everyone else is seeing because it's a big decision ... what are we seeing here, am I missing something. Luke is going to be our quarterback this week. Tavien (St. Clair) is one snap away and that has to be his mentality ... if we feel like we need to make a move, we will. But we don't feel like we're at that point yet ... We'll continue to invest in him but I don't think that (starting) moment is right now"
Finding A Rhythm Between Forcing The Ball To Jeremiah Smith And Having A Flow
The most difficult part of being a young quarterback and having an All-American and Heisman level receiver out wide is getting the ball to him when necessary, but not forcing the issue. The only problem is Ohio State has struggled to get Jeremiah Smith the ball in key moments of the game, and gone multiple drives without getting him the ball.
Against Oregon it was noticeable. Smith had three receptions on four targets in the first quarter and then went up until the 6:37 mark of the third quarter to have the ball thrown his way. He would go from the 3:36 mark of the first quarter to 55 seconds left in the third between receptions. So the question is, how to you find balance while also understanding if a play needs to be called specifically to get Smith involved?
"For sure and there are, we have those (plays). But as you can imagine, sometimes there's a mix to it as well," Day said. "There are times where it can't just be 'just go to this person'. There are times where we have those plays ... Teams do a good job defending him so when those stretches come, it's everything we can to make sure he's touching the ball. We also have to find a rhythm on offense and that's something we haven't been able to do over the last few weeks ... that's been one of the biggest issues on offense."
Emotions Running High But The Message Remains Around Finishing The Year Strong
There's no question the season hasn't gone according to plan. It's the first time Ohio State has had three losses in a season since 2011 and just the third time since 2004. The typically Ohio State standard is no longer with this group and while there are certainly external factors at play, the coaching and execution hasn't been good enough.
So where do things go from here? While it's a long shot, there is still a potential chance to play in the Big Ten Championship game. That doesn't happen without finishing the season 3-0, and it starts one game at a time. But, that means there is also a chance to find its way in the College Football Playoff. At the end of the day, the message Day is trying to send to the team is 'how do you want to be remembered'?
"To say there's not frustration and anger would not be accurate. By players and coaches," Day said. "We'll find out ... we have to embrace the reality of 'this is where we are and how do we want to be remembered' ... life is always about how you'll respond to things and what do we want the outcome to be ... we have an obligation to do that as a team and that's it. While there is frustration and everyone is angry about what's gone on, we have to embrace that reality and go after this game and go from there."
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This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: 3 key quotes from Ryan Day as he turns the page from Oregon loss
