Postgame Quotes vs. Indiana
11/23/2024 3:25:00 PM | Football
No. 2 Ohio State 38, No. 5 Indiana 15Â
Nov. 23, 2024 – Ohio Stadium, OhioÂ
Attendance: 105,751Â
Ryan Day, Ohio State head coach
On the crowd
"I thought the crowd was awesome. I thought our guys played with great passion. I thought the two of them just played off each other the entire game. I think the fact that [Indiana] had to go to a silent count made a difference in this game. And they certainly tried to clap early; they couldn't. They went to the silent cadence and that made a huge difference. I give the credit to the fans; they brought great energy."
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On the defense's performance
"I felt like the plan going in was excellent, but I thought the defensive staff did a great job with it. I thought Jim (Knowles) called a great game. I thought Tim (Walton) and Matt's (Guerreri) groups did an excellent job all week. I thought Larry's (Johnson) guys played with their hair on fire. I thought James' (Laurinaitis) group did a nice job. I think everybody on the team deserves credit. But like we talked about this week, this game is played by players, not coaches, and our players play hard. I felt like the defensive line won the line of scrimmage and got after their offensive line in terms of getting the backfield, and I thought our guys in the secondary covered well, because we knew they were going to take shots down the field."
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On looking forward to next week's game
"When there were triple zeros on that clock it was on. We know what's coming up and how important this week is for everybody, Buckeye Nation, and most importantly our team and our obligation to play really well next week and win that game."
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On Will Howard's efficient performance
"I think Buckeye Nation has now seen after 11 games that this guy is a winner. He's tough, he cares about his teammates, he's a leader. It was a tough spot this week with losing Seth (McLaughlin) for the year. And he, along with the offensive line, really just raised their spirits. And that's hard to do when somebody goes down, but he's got great resilience, great toughness. He's the heart and soul of our team."
Will Howard, Ohio State quarterback
On the win against Indiana…
"I'm proud of this team. I'm proud of this university. I'm proud of Buckeye Nation that is showing up and being loud, making an impact on the game. That was the loudest I've ever heard Ohio Stadium. It was turned up. I don't think I've ever gone crazier on the sideline than I did after Caleb's return. I think that was really what sealed the gap for us. I've got a lot of respect for what they do and what Coach Cignetti has done over there.
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On safety Caleb Downs…
"He's a special player. He might be one of the best football players I've been around. He's so instinctual, so smart. You see what he does with the ball in his hands. He's the best player. He's special, he's a difference maker. I can't emphasize how happy I am that he's on my team."
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On playing Michigan next week…
"This one's for those guys that came back. This one's for Buckeye Nation. This rivalry game is the first thing that I heard when I came here. It's the first goal we have every single year: beat The Team Up North. You can say anything about records, but that's going to be a hard game every single year. They're going to bring it. We're going to bring it. I want to do this for Coach Day. I want to do this for the guys that came back - for Emeka, for Trey, for JT, for Jack, for all those guys who came back. I want this for them so bad because they've been here. I've seen it from a distance, and I feel it. I'm a part of it now, and I want this for me too, but I want this for those guys. I want it for Coach Day. To shut up the haters, be able to go out there and say this is the Ohio State Buckeyes. This rivalry game means everything, we talk about it all the time. I'm just honored to be able to be a part of it, and I won't take it lightly."
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On new players on the offensive line…
"I'm so proud of those guys, for Caleb and Austin to step into new roles. Austin was playing right guard early in the season. Now he's playing left guard. For those guys to be able to step in like they did, I was just so proud of them. And really all week, I told those guys I was not worried. The biggest thing on my heart was that I just hurt for my brother (Seth McLaughlin), who just lost the rest of this season. I'm so proud of those guys for how they stepped up, and I think they did a good job."
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On the final touchdown…
"I think TreVeyon's a smart football player. We wanted to put an exclamation point on that thing and kind of remind everyone what the Buckeyes are about."
Cody Simon, Ohio State linebacker
On Ohio State's defensive performance after the first drive…
"We had to settle in a little bit and I think we did a good job. When we are in the pass rush, good things happen."
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When blitz plays are called for him…
"I focus on doing my job. We practice a lot during the week and I just try to do whatever they tell me to do. I'm just thinking I'm in that position and I'm really just happy to get those stops."
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On the defensive line…
"I'm 100 percent thankful for them. For me to make plays, they make plays too. They do the dirty work and I always have to give thanks to the D-line."
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Caden Curry, Ohio State defensive end
On more focus on special teams in practice…
"The seriousness of practice, we turned it up a notch. We really wanted to get some work on special teams and make a difference in the game. I feel like it started the momentum today and just kept it going and couldn't stop it."
Â
On Caleb Downs's punt return for a touchdown…
"If an athlete breaks three or four tackles, it makes it easy for me. All I got to do is get in the way of somebody and then he's gone."
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On the defense…
"Sometimes it might take one drive to feel it and get into the groove but when we're rocking, we're rocking and nobody can stop us."
Â
On Caleb Downs as a player…
"He's a great athlete. He can make big plays when he needs to, he can break those extra tackles, he can get out there in the open field and work. He's a great player to have on the team."
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On Seth McLaughlin…
"We all love each other and we just show it. You can tell he kind of felt that. He still looks like he's having a great time out there, even though he's just had the worst thing happen to him. You can tell the brotherhood is real and he's just enjoying it and embracing our love. He's an energy bug you can definitely feel wherever you are."
Caleb Downs, Ohio State safety
On his punt return touchdown…
"There was no doubt that I was going to field it. Enough space there and everybody did a really good job blocking. We talked about it all week that we had a real opportunity to enjoy this win. Just a true blessing from God to really be able to put it in the end zone."
Â
On the defensive mindset the past five weeks…
"I would say we're process-oriented, just truly trying to get prepared every week, trying to get ourselves in our best positions and the best mindset to play and really go into the game like they're not going to score. We're dominating the whole game."
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Curt Cignetti, Indiana head coach
On Indiana's overall performance…
"I thought we got off to a good start and it was a good football game there for a while. When it came up third and six and we got sacked – that's really where the game changed."
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On Indiana's struggles after the first score…
"We couldn't protect the quarterback. We had communication errors. [In terms of] pass protection, every time we dropped back to pass – something bad happened. We were fortunate to go into halftime only seven points down."
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On Indiana's perseverance…
"I was proud of the way we fought back and got within two scores there near the end."
Â
On Indiana's uncharacteristic errors…
"Maybe it was the ability of the opponent. [Ohio State] is a good football game that went to Oregon. [They] lost the last drive of the game at Oregon with a controversial offensive PI call. This team's loaded – loaded."
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Nov. 23, 2024 – Ohio Stadium, OhioÂ
Attendance: 105,751Â
Ryan Day, Ohio State head coach
On the crowd
"I thought the crowd was awesome. I thought our guys played with great passion. I thought the two of them just played off each other the entire game. I think the fact that [Indiana] had to go to a silent count made a difference in this game. And they certainly tried to clap early; they couldn't. They went to the silent cadence and that made a huge difference. I give the credit to the fans; they brought great energy."
Â
On the defense's performance
"I felt like the plan going in was excellent, but I thought the defensive staff did a great job with it. I thought Jim (Knowles) called a great game. I thought Tim (Walton) and Matt's (Guerreri) groups did an excellent job all week. I thought Larry's (Johnson) guys played with their hair on fire. I thought James' (Laurinaitis) group did a nice job. I think everybody on the team deserves credit. But like we talked about this week, this game is played by players, not coaches, and our players play hard. I felt like the defensive line won the line of scrimmage and got after their offensive line in terms of getting the backfield, and I thought our guys in the secondary covered well, because we knew they were going to take shots down the field."
Â
On looking forward to next week's game
"When there were triple zeros on that clock it was on. We know what's coming up and how important this week is for everybody, Buckeye Nation, and most importantly our team and our obligation to play really well next week and win that game."
Â
On Will Howard's efficient performance
"I think Buckeye Nation has now seen after 11 games that this guy is a winner. He's tough, he cares about his teammates, he's a leader. It was a tough spot this week with losing Seth (McLaughlin) for the year. And he, along with the offensive line, really just raised their spirits. And that's hard to do when somebody goes down, but he's got great resilience, great toughness. He's the heart and soul of our team."
Will Howard, Ohio State quarterback
On the win against Indiana…
"I'm proud of this team. I'm proud of this university. I'm proud of Buckeye Nation that is showing up and being loud, making an impact on the game. That was the loudest I've ever heard Ohio Stadium. It was turned up. I don't think I've ever gone crazier on the sideline than I did after Caleb's return. I think that was really what sealed the gap for us. I've got a lot of respect for what they do and what Coach Cignetti has done over there.
Â
On safety Caleb Downs…
"He's a special player. He might be one of the best football players I've been around. He's so instinctual, so smart. You see what he does with the ball in his hands. He's the best player. He's special, he's a difference maker. I can't emphasize how happy I am that he's on my team."
Â
On playing Michigan next week…
"This one's for those guys that came back. This one's for Buckeye Nation. This rivalry game is the first thing that I heard when I came here. It's the first goal we have every single year: beat The Team Up North. You can say anything about records, but that's going to be a hard game every single year. They're going to bring it. We're going to bring it. I want to do this for Coach Day. I want to do this for the guys that came back - for Emeka, for Trey, for JT, for Jack, for all those guys who came back. I want this for them so bad because they've been here. I've seen it from a distance, and I feel it. I'm a part of it now, and I want this for me too, but I want this for those guys. I want it for Coach Day. To shut up the haters, be able to go out there and say this is the Ohio State Buckeyes. This rivalry game means everything, we talk about it all the time. I'm just honored to be able to be a part of it, and I won't take it lightly."
Â
On new players on the offensive line…
"I'm so proud of those guys, for Caleb and Austin to step into new roles. Austin was playing right guard early in the season. Now he's playing left guard. For those guys to be able to step in like they did, I was just so proud of them. And really all week, I told those guys I was not worried. The biggest thing on my heart was that I just hurt for my brother (Seth McLaughlin), who just lost the rest of this season. I'm so proud of those guys for how they stepped up, and I think they did a good job."
Â
On the final touchdown…
"I think TreVeyon's a smart football player. We wanted to put an exclamation point on that thing and kind of remind everyone what the Buckeyes are about."
Cody Simon, Ohio State linebacker
On Ohio State's defensive performance after the first drive…
"We had to settle in a little bit and I think we did a good job. When we are in the pass rush, good things happen."
Â
When blitz plays are called for him…
"I focus on doing my job. We practice a lot during the week and I just try to do whatever they tell me to do. I'm just thinking I'm in that position and I'm really just happy to get those stops."
Â
On the defensive line…
"I'm 100 percent thankful for them. For me to make plays, they make plays too. They do the dirty work and I always have to give thanks to the D-line."
Â
Caden Curry, Ohio State defensive end
On more focus on special teams in practice…
"The seriousness of practice, we turned it up a notch. We really wanted to get some work on special teams and make a difference in the game. I feel like it started the momentum today and just kept it going and couldn't stop it."
Â
On Caleb Downs's punt return for a touchdown…
"If an athlete breaks three or four tackles, it makes it easy for me. All I got to do is get in the way of somebody and then he's gone."
Â
On the defense…
"Sometimes it might take one drive to feel it and get into the groove but when we're rocking, we're rocking and nobody can stop us."
Â
On Caleb Downs as a player…
"He's a great athlete. He can make big plays when he needs to, he can break those extra tackles, he can get out there in the open field and work. He's a great player to have on the team."
Â
On Seth McLaughlin…
"We all love each other and we just show it. You can tell he kind of felt that. He still looks like he's having a great time out there, even though he's just had the worst thing happen to him. You can tell the brotherhood is real and he's just enjoying it and embracing our love. He's an energy bug you can definitely feel wherever you are."
Caleb Downs, Ohio State safety
On his punt return touchdown…
"There was no doubt that I was going to field it. Enough space there and everybody did a really good job blocking. We talked about it all week that we had a real opportunity to enjoy this win. Just a true blessing from God to really be able to put it in the end zone."
Â
On the defensive mindset the past five weeks…
"I would say we're process-oriented, just truly trying to get prepared every week, trying to get ourselves in our best positions and the best mindset to play and really go into the game like they're not going to score. We're dominating the whole game."
Â
Curt Cignetti, Indiana head coach
On Indiana's overall performance…
"I thought we got off to a good start and it was a good football game there for a while. When it came up third and six and we got sacked – that's really where the game changed."
Â
On Indiana's struggles after the first score…
"We couldn't protect the quarterback. We had communication errors. [In terms of] pass protection, every time we dropped back to pass – something bad happened. We were fortunate to go into halftime only seven points down."
Â
On Indiana's perseverance…
"I was proud of the way we fought back and got within two scores there near the end."
Â
On Indiana's uncharacteristic errors…
"Maybe it was the ability of the opponent. [Ohio State] is a good football game that went to Oregon. [They] lost the last drive of the game at Oregon with a controversial offensive PI call. This team's loaded – loaded."
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Players Mentioned
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