Postgame Quotes vs. Ohio
9/13/2025 10:09:00 PM | Football
Sept. 13, 2025 – Ohio Stadium – Columbus, Ohio
Attendance: 105,765
Ryan Day, Ohio State head coach
On the efficiency of the offense...
"I'm just trying to look at the numbers here. Bo (Jackson) averaged 12 yards a carry, James (Peoples) averaged six yards a carry and CJ (Donaldson) averaged four yards a carry. And I get Jeremiah (Smith) had 17 on that run. We had 225 yards rushing on 31 carries. I mean, I don't know if that's so much the story as it is, just not converting in the red zone. And when you have on 63 plays just under 600 yards, I think it's more about when we got down to the red zone, we weren't able to execute, and those runs were not efficient. So I'm going to obviously watch the film and figure out if it was scheme, if it was coaching, or if it was personnel, and we got to do a better job and get down in the red zone. We got down there a couple times and had to settle for field goals and went for it the first time. Went to take the field goal a second time. Didn't want to get greedy. And then on the touchdown to CJ, we don't get in. We step out of bounds at that moment in that game again. Can't let ego get in the way and just kick the field goal. And let's not get, you know, this game, into a situation we put ourselves at risk because I felt like we're moving the ball well. We just had to finish these drives off, which is frustrating. But these are the things that we have to learn. And we learned a lot of lessons tonight. As we continue to open up the offense, like in a two-minute drill, or, you know, we're throwing the ball we have to learn when it's time to take a sack. These are all the lessons that we're gonna have to work through, and the only way to do that is to play through them. And there will be some lessons learned tonight, but I was excited about the way that we didn't panic and I think that's a sign of growth and maturity."
On the receiving game...
"I mean the throw to Carnell (Tate) could have been a little bit stronger. I think Carnell wishes he had that one back. He could have taken it over his head. The fade throw to Jeremiah (Smith), I thought we could have been cleaner; just step out of bounds on the one. We did have a penalty, and when you start to drive right around the 10-yard line, you can't mess around in that moment, like when you're trying to get a touchdown from first and goal from the 10, you got to be on point in everything you're doing. I just think it was a little bit of a lack of execution, but we have good ideas down there. We have the right packages going in. I think we can coach it better, and I think we can execute better."
On using Lincoln Kienholz in the red zone...
"The good news with Lincoln is Lincoln can throw it and he can run it, so I thought he did a nice job reading it. He found himself right behind that double team in the puller and hit it, so that was a good conversion for us. We do have more things for him, but the whole offense is available when Lincoln's in there, so we'll keep looking at that, and probably have some of that available. You know, it's not going to be a surprise, so it's not a secret we have some of that available in the red zone if we're having a hard time."
Julian Sayin, Ohio State quarterback
On stretching the field vertically…
"Great plays by Carnell [Tate] and Jeremiah [Smith]. We work on those throws a lot in practice. Coach Day and Coach Fessler always are telling our quarterbacks to throw it high so they can adjust. They made two great catches and I was excited to see them come down."
On improving over the next couple weeks…
"I think within the next two weeks it's about improving everywhere, including recognizing coverage, commanding the offense, moving us down the field and improving in our red zone execution. I think we can improve in all areas."
On the red zone struggles in the first half…
"All of the guys on offense knew we were moving the ball consistently. We just have to execute and it starts with me. We have to execute more in the red zone. Those first three drives we didn't get a touchdown in the red zone. We have to do better."
On overcoming adversity…
"I think it's good to battle some adversity out there. We had the turnovers and that tested how we responded as an offense and how I responded."
Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State wide receiver
On the offense in today's game...
"We just have to finish drives. I mean, we were driving down the field on them. We just couldn't finish. That was really the main point coming in at halftime. Just have to finish our drives. And that's what we did in the second half."
On what he's learned the first three weeks of the season...
"I mean you can't rush things. You just have to play as a team, as an offense, and just take it one play at a time."
On the deep ball from quarterback Julian Sayin...
"Yeah before we got on the field, me and Coach Day called it. He was like, 'We gonna call this play and you gotta go get it.' So, I already knew the ball was coming to me. I just had to go and make a play."
Sonny Styles, Ohio State linebacker
On how the team was able to focus and not panic during Ohio's pressure throughout the game…
"It's part of our training. It starts with Coach Day. He creates that mindset when coming into halftime, we either win, lose, or tie, and take a look at the issues and fix them. We all believe in each other and trust in each other, so we are going to be all right."
On the biggest lesson learned going into the bye week…
"Being able to respond to some of those negative plays and the plays we're not really happy about – we did pretty well. The details – we had a few times where we should get off the field on third down early. I think we had some penalties on third down, so things like that."
On how he's feeling after the first part of the season…
"Body feels good. I think mentally, we're ready to go. We know we are about to go on a big run and we know this week isn't a week to just chill and relax. It's time to get primed so that we get ready to go play a big game in Washington in two weeks."
Jaylen McClain, Ohio State safety
On his comfort level on the field...
"I'm really comfortable. I feel like the preparation I put in practice, it's evident and I try to put it on display on the field."
On the defense coming together as a unit....
"I felt like we played hard and fought hard to get off the field and give the ball to the best offense in the country."
On what the defense can work on during the bye week...
"Just don't take your foot off. In the bye week, I feel like you can get complacent and just take a break and take a step off the gas. I feel like we are going against a good Washington team, so we just have to keep going."
Max Klare, Ohio State tight end
On his first touchdown as a Buckeye...
"It felt great. I kind of blacked out. That's probably one of the coolest touchdowns I have ever scored. Looking up into the helmet stripe too, it was pretty sweet."
On his first three games at Ohio State....
"It's been awesome coming out to 100,000 plus fans every week; it is pretty surreal. It's kind of what you dream of growing up, so it's been sweet."
On the offense...
"It's awesome. I saw the ball go up a few times tonight and I was just like, "Oh, its touchdown." And you see Carnell (Tate) just walk into the end zone. And (Jeremiah Smith) can just go up and get the ball, so it's fun to play with guys like that. It just opens up the offense as a whole too, so it's a lot of fun."
Brian Smith, Ohio head coach
On the Ohio defense...
"I thought our defense played extremely well. I think they played hard, I think they tackled really well; there's a lot of good things that they did."
On Ohio State's defense...
"I'd say there's definitely NFL concepts that [Matt Patricia] runs. I know a lot of what he's doing has carried over from what he was running with the Patriots. I think the personnel is good there and there's a lot of good players on that side of the ball."
On the game experience...
"I think all these experiences are good experiences, and I think a lot of our guys are disappointed in the outcome of the game, but I think that they do see our true potential as a team. I think it's great for our confidence moving forward, just them understanding how well they're playing against good teams and how close they are to wins."
