Postgame Quotes vs. Michigan State
11/20/2021 4:39:59 PM | Football
Ohio State 56, Michigan State 7
November 20, 2021
Ohio Stadium — 101,858
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day
On the Buckeyes …
“We’re playing really good, clean football. We certainly have a high ceiling. We’re still striving toward greatness. We have a tough opponent coming up this week and all of our focus is quickly going to that game. We’re fresh out of this game, so I’m proud of the way these guys played.”
On quarterback C.J. Stroud and the Heisman race …
“When you only really play one half of football and you throw for six touchdowns – I think that matters when you’re looking at statistics. The level he is playing at right now is very high and that needs to be taken into consideration.”
On if he has thought about how well Ohio State is playing right now …
“There’s so much more here—we’re right in the middle of it right now. To take a step back and do all of that stuff, you lose focus on what’s going on right now. We have a huge game – everything is riding on this thing coming up right around the corner. The game wasn’t even over yet and I was already thinking about it. All of the focus goes to the Wolverines.”
From people questioning C.J. Stroud as QB1 to being a Heisman frontrunner …
“I’ve told him all along that praise and criticism are all the same. You have to treat it the same way. The same people who thought maybe he shouldn’t have been playing are the same people who are telling him he should be the Heisman trophy winner. You can’t listen to either of those people.”
Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud
On the game …
“I appreciate Buckeye Nation coming out and showing up. We just had great practices for preparation and then did some good things on defense. We knew we had to be prepared for it and really everything we thought was going to hit us was coming down. It was good to come out there and execute all over.”
On the Buckeye receivers …
“Chris [Olave], being the veteran, is the old guy. He brings a sense of leadership but also is a great player. He has tremendous speed and his routes are amazing. He’s great with yards after the catch. Garrett [Wilson], of course he’s just a freak athlete. He can do anything he wants to. He really deserves credit for being a great blocker as well when other guys get little bubbles and things of that sort. He’s a great player to play with. Jaxon [Smith-Njigba] is probably the best all-around player I’ve played with. He is really crisp and really clean, his body language and the things he does with his body are just crazy.”
Ohio State receiver Chris Olave
On the skill set of the receiver room …
“We got a lot of talented receivers, but we all have different but similar skill sets. I feel like we are different in different ways.”
On C.J. Stroud’s 17-consecutive completions …
“When we spread the ball around that can happen at any time. We are all getting targets. When the running backs are clicking, or when our offense is clicking. C.J. is a one-of-a-kind talent. I’m proud of him and can’t wait to see him keep going.”
Regarding the record-breaking TD catch …
“Huge record. It’s such a blessing. All thanks to God.”
On the offense clicking …
“When we are out there clicking, getting first downs and catching the ball, we can score seven touchdowns in seven possessions at any time. We need to try to get better every day and keep building that chemistry.”
Michigan State head coach Mel Tucker
“That’s a very talented team. In all three phases, they outplayed us.”
“They beat us, they were the much better team today and that was obvious.”
“They can score early, they get up on you, get the crowd into it and then it’s a wrap.”
“We knew what they were capable of doing, and we knew we had to stop them; we didn’t stop them.”
“I told them, I don’t want to hear a word on the bus or on the plane. We got a 30-minute plane ride, there’s nothing to talk about.”
Ohio State defensive end Tyreke Smith
On preparing for Michigan’s State running back Kenneth Walker III …
“When we went into practice we talked amongst the D-line, amongst the defense, both sides of the ball just have to have a different mindset about this week. We didn’t want to be one of those teams that he did what he wanted against. We just had that mindset and we were going to shut him down all week. We were playing the scout team like we were playing Kenneth. And then we just took that mindset and took it into the game. Took what we did in practice and put it into the game and it paid off for us.
On how the offense and defense feed off of one another…
“I think both sides of the ball, they feed off each other so when we’re doing good, we come out there and get a three and out and it helps the offense. When they come out, scoring good, getting points on the board early, we’re coming out with more three and out. It’s good chemistry coming together. And like he said, it’s a snowball effect. We just keep bouncing off each other, bouncing our energy off of each other. The more that happens, the more we get better. So we just get comfortable as the season went on, you’re starting to see that we’re getting together.
On looking ahead to The Game…
“Same as what Haskell said, we just have been preparing for that team, all winter, all summer. We just got to have that game always on our mind and in the back of our head so you know, now that it’s here, we have to do what we’ve been doing, practice hard and go into The Game with a good mindset.”
On how the defense feeds off of big plays…
“We’re trying to put it through the roof. The more we get turnovers, stops, three and outs, that just raises our attributes. When doing that, it’s like, go out there and play hard to get another three and out, get another fumble, and so we thrive off that. You see the sideline getting turnt, getting jumped, and getting hype so that when we see that, we want it to keep happening. When we’re doing that we give the offense the ball in a good situation. So we just are always trying to do what we can for our teammates, you know, just to make the other side thrive and just work.”
Ohio State defensive tackle Haskell Garrett
On how the offense and defense feed off of one another…
“It just comes down to really getting them the ball. That team that we’re playing, when we hit 14 up, we just need to play that much better on defense. Because that’s when teams are really highly motivated to come on and score and get in the red zone and eventually in the end zone. So when that happens, we just really need to be on our P’s and Q’s when it comes to us getting up that fast.”
On looking ahead to The Game…
“We’re really excited. And this is what this game was always about. There’s always the stakes, the rivalry. They’re a good team every year and they bring it in and we’re excited to play.”
On bringing the energy in the pregame Skull Session…
“It’s just we had a great week of practice, great preparation, a lot of guys sacrificed certain things and made this a priority. We knew how big this running back was and how good this team was. We just had a great practice. I meant what I said and I said what I meant.”
On setting the tone early…
“Yeah, you know, I truly believe that anybody on the defense sets the tone, and it starts early in the game. It’s just like a ball of snow: once it gets rolling down the hill, everybody gravitates to it. So I just feel that by me, coming out and setting the tone, it gravitated to everybody else.”
On playing his last game in The Shoe…
“It was very emotional during the week, but our first objective was to beat this team and to put my brothers first. I soaked it all in, looked around and saw the fans while I had my pads on. When I come back, I won’t have my pads on. It was truly a special moment and just to see all the fans and all the love that they give us.”
On the biggest difference on the defense from the beginning of the year to now…
“Experience. I said in the beginning of the season, experience. We have a lot of new faces – or, we had a lot of new faces. Now those guys have experience. They have experience with the older guys and chemistry has been built on the field. We normally communicate with each other each week to learn better. And so just experience together. These guys that were new faces are now not new faces anymore. They’re known.”
