Ohio State head coach Ryan Day
On the game
“I think when you looked at the first half, physically, we were playing really well up front, especially on defense. I’m not sure how many yards they had in the first half running the ball. Then they had those two long plays. In the second half, it was more of the same; too many big plays. When you look at the game, there was just way too many big plays. On offense, we had too many penalties and it got us off schedule. We just didn’t do a good job converting on third down and then it gets out of hand at the end because we are probably throwing the ball too much.”
On the defense
“I’m going to have to look and see where all the breakdowns were. But it wasn’t just one area, it was a missed tackle on the first play and then we got beat on the second play. There was obviously some misfits in the run game on other plays and then there was the pass to the tight ends. A few plays in the back end and then a couple on the run. The first thing we need to do in games like this is play great defense. Other than two plays in the first half, I thought we did, but not in the second half.”
On how his emotions after the game
“Hard to say right now because this is not the outcome we all envisioned. I thought we had really good preparation. I thought we were building towards playing really well in this game. We were fighting there in the first half. I felt really good going into the second half and we just didn’t execute well enough in the first half. I thought we played hard, I thought we were fighting out there, but in the end, we came up short.”
Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles
On J.J. McCarthy’s performance
“I mean, I thought he did a good job of you know, making some throws under pressure but we knew he could throw the ball. I thought he played well when he had to.”
On his mindset at halftime
“I just go into halftime and we’re on it. We’re doing well. We had things defended in the run game, and then the first half was just a couple big plays. Telling them hey, we just got to keep it going. We’re on top of the run, we gave up a couple of bad plays; nothing to get panicked about.”
On allowing explosive plays
“Knowing that the second half when they hit a couple, obviously there at the end they had a couple of big runs. That’s the difference, it was just disheartening. Obviously, I have to take the blame for that. Surely, you know, just got to do a better job. It’s a story of explosive plays. I thought we matched well, and nothing was lost like that. We matched through the course of the game, but too many explosives. And that’s what is disheartening, you know, for not just the defense, but the team, the fans and I have to take responsibility for that.”
On the “stunning” result
“Stunning – I don’t know. It’s football. It’s a hard game. All those things you mentioned, you just have to take responsibility. Obviously the players are hurting much more than me. I’m crushed but they’re young men who put their heart and soul into it. They’re the ones that I have to be able to look in the eye and talk about all those things that you said. Scheme, technique, fundamentals, everything that goes into it has to fall on my shoulders.”
Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud
On his emotions following the loss
“Honestly, I don’t even know how to feel right now. It just happened so fast. I don’t know if this is my last time playing in The Shoe, but I’ve enjoyed every second I’ve gotten in there. I think I’ve earned everybody’s respect as time has gone on and I’ve fallen in love with Columbus, Ohio and Buckeye Nation. I don’t think one game defines us. I don’t think that this game defines this team. I would take this team over anybody in the country every week, so I’m blessed to be a part of this fraternity and this brotherhood.”
On the team’s performance
“The first half we were shooting ourselves in the foot. If we scored more points in the first half, I think it would have been a lot different. We come out in the second and we just shoot ourselves in the foot again in penalties.”
On how the team handled the emotions leading up to and during the game
“It’s been tough to be honest with you, man, Going through what I went through last year after the game, it was tough and it was a hard pill to swallow for 365 days. It’s going to be tough again, but I think this program is tough, I think the coaches are tough, I think the players are tough.”
Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh
On the team’s performance
“I’m so proud of them. I knew our team was focused and determined, as they have been all season. This is the locker room of heroes. I talked about it last night, we can’t have one or two heroes; we need a whole team of them. It was a great team win. Just can’t say enough about the players and the coaches; they are incredible. It’s a happy locker room as you can imagine. They’re happy, they’re celebrating, but they’re giving thanks.”
On the passing game
“I mean, we knew that we could make those kinds of plays. Cornelius Johnson really got it started with the catch and then broke the tackle for a 75-yard touchdown.”
On the run game
“We never got away from the running game. One good thing about the running game is it can wear on you as the game goes on. Eventually, that’s what you get, when [Donovan Edwards] gets free. You don’t even think about it. It’s just going to be a touchdown and it’s great to see those 75- and 85-yard runs.”
On the defense
“We did another really tremendous job. Another great job in the second half; they did an incredible job. We felt like any kind of stop was going to be gold, but we weren’t going to mess up any stop with any kind of penalty. We weren’t going to panic.”
On J.J. McCarthy
“He’s just got that it-factor. First-year starter, in the history of Michigan, that went 12-0, and he beat Ohio State. In the second half, we said ‘let’s run J.J.’. He was just on fire in every way; running the ball or throwing it.”
