Ryan Day, Ohio State football “excited” for Nebraska after “long week.”

Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes are looking to get back on the field after their first loss of the season.

“It’s been a long week for all of us and we’ve been here talking about it for many hours,” Day said during his press conference Tuesday in Columbus. “You sit on it and chew on it. At some point you move on and look forward, and that’s about where we are.”

Day said the Buckeyes are excited to “move on” after their 32-31 loss in Eugene, Oregon, on Oct. 12. By the end, when Buckeye quarterback Will Howard slipped as time expired, it was too late for OSU to score a game-winning field goal. The loss dropped Ohio State to No. 4 in the current rankings and left many question marks among the OSU fan base.

Day said his team focused on blocking out the “outside noise.”

“Your players read it, your players’ parents read it, recruits read it, so you have to know what’s going on out there. At the end of the day, you have to focus on what’s right. “You know what your team is about and that’s what really matters,” Day said.

The coach said that when a player comes to Ohio State, “the territory belongs.” Nebraska fans, players and coaches recognize that sentiment all too well, as they bonded with the Huskers last week after the Huskers’ 56-7 debacle in Bloomington Music had to be dealt with and the Big Red moved into the away phase with a score of 5:2.

Day said the problems in the Oregon game stemmed from a variety of issues, not just a single cause. However, the Buckeyes tried to create more opportunities defensively during their bye week.

“The first thing you notice is that we lost the battle for the ball. Every time you play a game like that it hurts. We didn’t lose any balls. The second thing was the explosive plays, too many explosive plays,” Day said.

The coach went on to talk about his defense, which had been outstanding right up until the battle for the top five. The Buckeyes’ pass rush failed to produce a sack against the Ducks, although they did collect multiple sacks in the first five games of the year. Day blamed that on himself, saying it was “the coach’s job to make sure we put our players in a position to be successful.”

Day confirmed that the Buckeyes will be without two key starters going forward, as left tackle Josh Simmons is out for the remainder of the season with a knee injury and tight end Will Kacmarek is expected to miss the Oregon game. However, the coach said the team “could have up to 10 games from now on” and that the team is focused on Nebraska.

Day only commented on Nebraska a few times during his press conference, saying that Ohio State was “looking toward the second half of the season and then directly at Nebraska” during the bye week. However, the coach has a unique relationship with the Huskers because they play starting signalman Dylan Raiola.

Raiola initially committed to Ohio State before declaring his loyalty to Georgia, then transferred to Nebraska during the recruiting cycle last December. Day was asked what this matchup against a former recruit means to him, and the coach said it was nothing personal.

“I think I heard a statistic the other day about the starting quarterbacks in the Big Ten, maybe there were 14 or something like that that were transfers. Whether it’s waivers or transfers, it’s part of the world we live in right now. “You just have to adapt to it,” Day said.

“We’re trying to make sure we keep as many of our people as possible. That’s kind of the stability of our program and the culture of our program. That’s it. When it comes to Dylan, I think he has a chance to be a great player,” Day said. “I think he’s already playing at a high level. He has a lot of talent and he has a great family.”

Nebraska and Ohio State will face off in Columbus on Saturday at 11 a.m. CDT. Pregame coverage from Big Noon Kickoff will kick off the action on FOX.

MORE: Has Nebraska football already lost 5-star WR Michael Terry III to Texas?

MORE: Nebraska football continues to work to turn around 4-star Alabama commit

MORE: Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule has deep regrets about loss at Indiana

MORE: Nebraska football offers 4-star defensive lineman Nolan Wilson in 2026