The No. 8-seed Buckeyes will play host to No. 9 Tennessee on Dec. 21, an 8 p.m. kickoff on ABC after a regular season mostly filled with noon games on Fox.
“It’s going to be electric,” Day said. “Our guys are going to be excited about this, and as we head into our preparation, it’s going to be on us fast — two weeks — so getting this first win will be critical in building momentum as you head into the teeth of the playoffs.”
Ohio State won the first College Football Playoff in 2014 through a process then-coach Urban Meyer spoke about being unique at the time.
After spending a month preparing to play No. 1 Alabama, the Buckeyes had to turn around and prepare for No. 2 Oregon less than two weeks later.
Then the playoff was only four teams, and preparing for the first game was exactly like preparing for a traditional New Year’s Day bowl game.
Now the playoff includes 12 teams, and Ohio State will have been idle for two weekends before teeing it up against the Volunteers, who also missed their conference championship game so they were not in action this past weekend.
Unlike the Buckeyes, though, Tennessee won its season-ending rivalry game as a double-digit favorite, downing Vanderbilt 36-23 in Nashville.
Day admitted his team needed some time to get over its stunning 13-10 loss to Michigan on Nov. 30, but he expressed satisfaction with how his team was dealing with the disappointment.
“I think last week it was a mixed bag of identifying the things that didn’t go well and working through that,” Day said. “You don’t just move on after a day or two. We know that.
“But now that we have a target, we said, ‘Listen, we’re going to flush that out.’
“We’ve got to fix the problems, but it’s not going to do us any good looking back on that. We’ve got to learn from it and move on.
“The guys have a good look in their eye. We were up there at noon watching the selection show, and there was a great energy up there. They want to play. They want to get back on the field and get a win.”
Topping Tennessee will be no easy task.
Coach Josh Heupel’s teams have been known for their high-flying offense in past years, but the 2024 squad is led by a defense allowing 13.9 points per game, tied for fourth in the nation.
“This is a roster that’s of elite players and coached extremely well,” Heupel said of Ohio State during a press conference in Knoxville. “They’re smart, they’re tough, they’re physical on both sides of the line of scrimmage and do a great job on special teams too.
“So for us, understand the quality of the opponent we’re getting ready to play. We’re going to have to play at our best and need a couple of great weeks of preparation to give ourselves a chance to do that in Columbus.”
NEXT GAME
Friday, Dec. 21
College Football Playoff First Round
Tennessee at Ohio State, 8 p.m., ABC, ESPN, 1410
About the Author
