Ryan Day on Ohio State defeating Northwestern 21-7: 'It's all about winning'
The conditions were about as ugly as it can get, but Northwestern didn’t shy away from a little old fashioned football weather against Ohio State. The Wildcats took it to the Buckeyes in the first half, hanging tough against the best the Big Ten has to offer Saturday afternoon, but it simply wasn’t enough to defeat Ryan Day’s team.
Northwestern fell for the eighth straight time, while Ohio State found a much needed victory to remain undefeated. Afterwards, Ryan Day spoke to Molly McGrath of ESPN about the difficulty the conditions provided on Saturday.
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“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like this,” Day said, regarding the howling winds and sideway rain that plagued the game throughout the day. “This is as hard of conditions as we’ve been in in a long time. Our guys played tough, played well. CJ had the big run there, defense played well, found a way to win.
“Every week’s a new challenge, but this is something I’m glad it’s over with.”
Moreover, was nearly impossible to throw the football throughout the first half, as both quarterbacks Brendan Sullivan and CJ Stroud struggled to complete much of anything down the field throughout the game.
Sullivan completed just ten passes for 79 yards, while Stroud also completed ten passes for 76 yards. The game won’t go on the latter’s Heisman scorecard, we bet.
“It’s all about winning,” answered Day, regarding the difficulty passing the football. “That’s what it’s really been about. Really, for half the game, you really couldn’t throw the ball in this type of weather. But even when the wind was at our back, it was so strong that it was difficult to do anything in the passing game. Wasn’t for a lack of trying.
“I think we could’ve run the ball a little better, could’ve got some more momentum going but what a strange game. Glad this one’s behind us.”
Still, the running game was there, as that’s how both squads found their points throughout the day. Even Stroud got in on the fun, rushing for 79 yards in a surprising turn of events. Miyan Williams led the way with two touchdowns for the Buckeyes, while Eric Hull carried the ball for 116 yards and a touchdown for Northwestern.
Now, Ohio State will turn their attention to Indiana and Maryland while Michigan looms large on the horizon. The Buckeyes and the Wolverines seem to be on a collision course that’ll shape the Big Ten and the College Football Playoff, but there’s still plenty of time in between.
As for Northwestern, the Wildcats have back to back road games on their schedule, facing Minnesota and Purdue in the next two weeks. Afterwards, they’ll return home and face Illinois, the team that’s been the unexpected story of the Big Ten thus far. After eight straight losses, the Wildcats will hope to use their effort against the Buckeyes to finish the season strong.
“Just keep growing, keep building and finding different ways to win,” added Day, asked about Ohio State hitting their stride. “This game was very unique. We’ve found different ways to win different games. We’ll go back and try to make sense of this one.”
Regardless, Ohio State and Ryan Day survived a big scare against Northwestern, able to grind out a victory over the Wildcats. They’ll take the victory, but hope to play better moving forward against the rest of their schedule.