What Washington head coach Jedd Fisch said about Buckeyes

COLUMBUS — Ohio State will travel to Seattle to face Washington in the Big Ten opener on Saturday afternoon. The Buckeyes are entering Big Ten play the same way the Huskies are — with a 3-0 record in nonconference action.

Now they’ll both have their first chance to make a statement in league play.

Washington coach Jedd Fisch held his weekly press conference Monday evening, and Lettermen Row has everything the Huskies head coach said about the Buckeyes heading into a critical week.

Jedd Fisch opening statement

Jedd Fisch: “Purple reign game. Purple out. Let’s see how much purple we could fill in. Whatever the capacity is, hopefully we go over it. I probably just got in trouble, but we want to pack that place. We want to have as many thousands and thousands of people as we can. Talked to the students yesterday. All the freshmen were out here and told them we want every one of them, every single one of them to come into that student section and get that thing to overflow and see how loud we can be. Challenge people to get there early. You know, let’s try to get by 12 o’clock, let’s have that place packed. And then we can just see what type of environment, really let the country know what the greatest setting of college football looks and sounds like. So we’re really excited about the game. We know we have a fantastic opponent coming in, the number one team in the country. I think that’s happened five times in the history of Washington football, to host of number one team in the country. That hasn’t happened in the last 18 years. And we recognize it’s going to be an incredible challenge.”

On the challenge of facing Ohio State…

Jedd Fisch: “It’ll be a great challenge. They have a fantastic football team. You don’t win the national championship and be the number one team in the country, average 11 to 12 wins every year for, I can’t even remember how long. I know in 2016, they were the number one team in the country when we played them when I was at Michigan. And it was a great team then, it’s a great team now. Coach Day has done an incredible job. He recruits at the highest level. Their team prepares at the highest level. Their coaching staff is of the highest level. So every part of it will be a great challenge. It’s not just Jeremiah Smith, but he’s certainly one of the best wide receivers in the country.”

On the Buckeyes…

Jedd Fisch: “Coach Patricia’s a fantastic defensive coach. They have a great staff. Coach Day’s does a great job. They’re going to prepare. They’re going to be very well coached. They’re going to have a really good game plan. So we’re going to have to match that the best we can. And with their players, with their personnel, we’re going to have to match that with our players and our personnel.So we’re going to do the best we can to go out there and play our best game and continue to play at a very high level. … And we’re going to do our very best to continue understanding that we’re playing, you know, the team that’s right now the number one team in the country that won the national championship last year.”

On going against Matt Patricia and the Ohio State defense…

Jedd Fisch: “We’ve had games together against one another at different places, whether he was the coordinator or the head coach. We’ve been on other teams that — I’ve been on other teams that have played against Matt’s defenses. And then on the same token, we became good friends as well. And I’m obviously a huge fan and have a ton of respect for Matt.”

“They do a great job of setting the edge. They do a great job of tackling. They do a great job of disguising their coverages, you know, lining up in two-high shell and dropping their safeties down late and lining up in a one-high look and getting back to two-high. You know, they’re very disciplined.They know their assignments. They are well executed. And that’s what I think that’s what Ohio State’s defense is now. A year ago, their defense was fantastic too with just a with a different coordinator. But Coach Knowles did an amazing job there as well. So that’s Ohio State. They’re gonna always have a great defense. They’re always gonna have a great offense and great kicking game. That’s why they win as much as they win.”

On the game’s importance…

Jedd Fisch: “The country’s watching. It’s the prime game. It’s the number one. It’s the game of the week, right? The other games that are played conflict with one another. So the games that are on at the 7:30 Eastern time window, there’s two of them that will be in competition with one another. Our game is the game that everyone will tune in on across the country at 3:30 in the afternoon Eastern time, 12:30 Pacific on CBS. So what else do you need to know? What else do you need to do? I think our players are ready. They’re excited. They’re fired up.”