Ohio State Buckeyes on letdown watch with trip to Wisconsin looming

“We talked about it on Sunday as a team that we’ve got to bring it this week,” Day said of facing a 5-2 Wisconsin team that is leading the Big Ten West after a come-from-behind win at Illinois.

“They’re playing well,” Day said. “They’re a good football team there. They’ve got a really good opportunity to win their side, and we can’t let last week affect this week. Championship teams bring it every week. They don’t have ups and downs and letdowns, so we’re not allowed to have a letdown. We got to bring it, and we know it’ll be night game. I think it’s Halloween weekend. I mean, it’s gonna be rockin’. We know that.”

Here are five more takeaways from Day’s press conference:

1. Backup quarterback Devin Brown is likely to be out for a week or more.

Day did not say who will be the new No. 2 quarterback behind Kyle McCord.

His options are Oregon State graduate transfer Tristan Gebbia or true freshman Lincoln Kienholz.

“I think we’ll go through the week and give those guys reps and see how that goes,” Day said. “Tristan has experience. You know, they might be five or six years apart, but I think if you do know, where those guys are, one’s that were experienced guy, and one is a younger guy that we think has a really bright future here.”

Brown suffered an ankle injury in the win vs. Penn State.

2. A handful of other injured players are expected back in the lineup this week.

Running back TreVeyon Henderson, receiver Emeka Egbuka and cornerback Denzel Burke all missed the win over Penn State with various injuries, and they could all return Saturday night.

‘We’re expecting to have great weeks of practice out of those guys,” Day said. “Expecting to have them ready on Saturday. I know that I said that last week and didn’t quite get there, but we’re looking to have a really good week of practice and having those guys available.”

3. Day has great respect for Luke Fickell.

The first-year coach of the Badgers is a former Ohio State player and assistant coach trying to transition his successful brand of winning football from Cincinnati to Madison after serving as head coach of the Bearcats for six years.

“He certainly left a lot behind here as a player and as a coach,” said Day, whose tenure as an assistant at Ohio State did not crossover with Fickell’s. “Very well-respected by so many. ... We know going in they’re gonna be well-coached. They’re gonna play hard. They have a bunch of guys on that staff with great experience. So nothing but respect for Luke, his staff, the team, the program. Wisconsin has always been an excellent program, and Luke’s done a great job.”

4. Buckeyes must end special teams “blunders.”

Penn State had a golden opportunity Saturday when a punt bounced off Ohio State’s Lorenzo Styles Jr. and the Nittany Lions got the ball at midfield. They ended up failing to capitalize, but it was not the first time Ohio State had some type of issue on special teams this season.

In the Buckeyes’ last home game, they botched a punt snap when the ball slipped out of the snapper’s hands and resulted in a turnover on downs.

“The bottom line is that those things can’t happen,” Day said. “That’s just it.”

5. Day had no comment on the Michigan sign stealing story.

The Wolverines suspended a staffer last week after reports he was involved in an operation scouting future Michigan opponents in-person at games, a violation of NCAA rules.

“Anything regarding that right now I’m just not going to comment on today,” Day said. “I’d rather just focus on Wisconsin, but I obviously appreciate you gotta ask the question, but it’s just something I don’t want to get into right now.”

Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh and university administrators issued statements denying involvement in or knowledge of any illegal activity, and an investigation in ongoing.

SATURDAY’S GAME

Ohio State at Wisconsin, 7:30 p.m., NBC, 1410