Ohio State Buckeyes coach reveals how important Penn State’s win was

Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes came into their matchup with the Penn State Nittany Lions desperately needs a statement victory.

After losing to the Oregon Ducks on the road and struggling to beat the Nebraska Cornhuskers, the pressure increased on Ohio State to prove they could win a statement game. That’s exactly what they did this week.

Going out and beating the No. 3 ranked team in the country is the definition of a statement win.

Beating Penn State is exactly the kind of win they needed to also secure their spot in the College Football Playoff. It would take a total collapse for them to be out of the playoffs at this point.

After the victory, Day spoke out about how important the win was for the Buckeyes.

“We were at a crossroads. This was a big game for us. We didn’t really want to say that publicly. But we said that behind closed doors. This was a big game for us for a lot of reasons. A top five win like that on the road in a tough environment with (Donovan Jackson) going to left tackle – we were excited going into this game, it was going to be a tough environment.

Just saying that the state of Ohio was at a “crossroads” says a lot. The team had to prove to themselves that they belonged. A loss would have put them in an incredibly high-pressure situation.

He also talked about how the team is feeling after the big win over the Nittany Lions.

“But I can tell you, when I come out of that locker room, there’s a lot of guys in that room that are excited. Probably the most animated locker room I’ve been in in a long time. … We’re going to Enjoy this tonight – coaches , players, staff, everyone involved. This was a moment that we should enjoy. A lot of work went into this match.’

Needless to say, the Buckeyes deserve to enjoy every second of celebrating the win.

However, the work has only just begun. Ohio State still has a tough game in a few weeks against the red-hot Indiana Hoosiers and they close out the season against the Michigan Wolverines. The Buckeyes have business to take care of in these two games.

Getting the win over Penn State was a great stepping stone toward the ultimate goal of a national championship. But Ohio State has a long road ahead of them to reach that goal and they need to hang in there and continue to get better.