Tennessee football is headed on the road for its first ever College Football Playoff game. The Vols have a tall task ahead of them as they face an Ohio State team that’s as talented as any other in the country.

After officially learning its draw, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day met with the media to discuss his team, what stands out about Tennessee and more. Here’s everything Day said.

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On his reaction to Ohio State hosting Tennessee in the first round of the 12-team College Football Playoff

“I think when you looked at it last week, you could kind of sort of project out where you might be. This was one of the the projections that we saw. So we’ve been looking at these guys and a couple other opponents. But we’re we’re fired up. We’re obviously excited about playing the first ever playoff game in Ohio Stadium. Ohio Stadium has been around a long time, over a 100 years. 

There’s been a lot of great games, but never a playoff game like this. And so night game, 8 o’clock, it’s gonna be electric. Our guys are gonna be excited about this. And so as we head into our preparation, it’s gonna be on us fast. Two weeks. Getting this first win will be critical in building momentum as you head into the the the teeth of the playoffs. And when you look at tournament play, you look at playoffs, we all know that that first game is very, very important. So it’s not a bowl prep. It’s very different. It’s a quick turnaround. And all of our focus is on these guys.”

On Ohio State’s draw as a whole, beyond just facing Tennessee in the first round

“Well, I think when you look a bunch of the teams that are in there, our guys have played some of these teams and whether it was this year or in the past, whatever it might be. So there’s guys who have a lot of confidence looking at the draw saying, you know, we know who these teams are. They’re very good, but we also feel confident in who we are, where we are, when we’re playing our best. Now we also have to make adjustments and and make corrections and fix the things that need to get fixed coming off the last game. That has to happen.  But almost every team in this this playoff has their own issues. They have their own things that they they need to address. So to me, that’s gonna be a huge part of who has success here.” 

On Ohio State’s leadership regrouping and responding in the playoffs

“I think last week, it was a mixed bag of identifying the things that didn’t go well, working through that. You don’t just move on after a day or two. We know that. But now that we have a target. We said, listen, you know, we’re gonna flush that out. We got back on the field. We got into the weekend and said, like, okay. We gotta learn from it. We gotta fix with the problems. But it’s not gonna do us any good looking back on that. We gotta learn from it, move on. The guys have a good look in their eye. We were up there at noon watching the selection show. There was a great energy up there. They wanna play. They wanna get back on the field and get a win.”

On if Ohio State will make any changes on the offensive line as he alluded to previously 

“I mean, I know who’s gonna be in the mix. I’m not gonna get into that just yet. We have two weeks of prep that we gotta dive into and identify what gives us the best chance next week or in two weeks to go win this thing. And so we’ll look at it and make sure it’s right. But, yeah, I mean, there’ll there’ll be some guys in the mix. Luke Montgomery will be in the mix. Josh Padilla will be in the mix. And we’ll make sure that it’s right. And based on how they practice, we’ll figure out how it’s gonna look.”

On how Ohio State will handle players that enter the NCAA Transfer Portal and if they’ll play in the playoff game

“Yeah. As I’m sure you can imagine, it’s a very unique situation. And so we’re gonna deal with each of those situations on an individual basis because. You know, listen, there are guys who, they want to, first off, finish what they started here. These guys made a commitment to this team. It’s a close team. They wanna finish out their commitment. And I think that those guys deserve a lot of credit for wanting to do that. But I also think that some guys need to figure out, okay, what’s next for me? And it’s not their fault. It’s just the way it’s designed that they have to make decisions while we’re getting ready to go play in the playoffs. So very, very unique. To answer your question, we’ll make decisions on individual basis. But we have to make sure that we’re being fair to our guys, but we’re also have enough depth that we need to go make this run.”

On if any of those decisions have been made yet

“The portal officially opens tomorrow or, I guess, maybe late tonight. So we’ll continue to have these conversations into this week and and make some final decisions as we get through probably midweek.”

 On what gives him confidence with the Ohio State offensive line moving forward 

“Well, I look at some what’s across, being away from it for a week. You have to go out and look at some of the other offensive lines that are across the country. And certainly taking to couple of these injuries, key injuries did set us back, but these guys have what it takes to go to go make this run. And so we gotta help them. We gotta help them. But and I think there’s ways to do that. Now we haven’t done a whole bunch of practicing. We’ve been on the field twice, and we’ll get back out there tomorrow and, obviously, a big week of practice this week. So, you know, we gotta go put it on the field. But there’s a lot of ways that we can do it, and we will do it.”

On how playoff prep is different in the 12-team playoff era

“It is very different. We took last week to rest up a little bit. We were on the field twice and then we have a plan for this week and how we’re gonna attack this week, and then next week will be game week. So it’s different than anything in the past. We’ll finish up finals here this week, which is good. Give our guys more time. But this week we gotta get the game plan in. We gotta get it going. And then next week, we’re right in the game plan week. So it’s really the only difference is really this week right here, and I think we’ve got a really good plan for it. I’ve talked to Jim. I’ve talked to Chip. And we’ll keep evaluating it as we move forward.”

On if he’s talked to coaches from FCS about how to handle this kind of playoff bracket

“Yeah. A little bit. Had some conversations with different folks about that. But you also know your team. I think sometimes when you get too much information, it can cloud your judgment, and I’ve learned that before. I think we we know this team. I know this team. I think we’ve got a good plan for it, and we’re gonna go attack it.”

On how he has seen Ohio State QB Will Howard respond to the Michigan loss

“Similar to the other guys. Again, when you first come off of those types of things, there’s a lot of emotion. And then as time goes on, you got to get refocused because you know what you’ve done in the past really does not affect what’s going on moving forward. Everything is out in front of us and I think he’s in the same boat just like that. He knows what needs to get done. We got to have great couple weeks of preparation and then go put it on the field. He’s the same way. I know he’s excited to get back on the field this week.” 

On an SEC team going on the road in the Big 10 in December for a playoff game 

“It’s a once in a life a lifetime opportunity up until this point. I mean, this has never happened before. I think it’s exciting. I think it’s exciting for our players. I think it’s exciting for our coaches and staff. It’s exciting for our fans to be part of something that’s never really been done before. And so also having a night game in the Horseshoe and who knows the weather will be? It’ll be great. It’ll be electric. We’re all excited about it. It’s the first time for this. It’s just very different than it was 10 years ago, 15 years ago, 20 years ago. We’re just in a different time. We’ll practice outside like we continue to do to make sure that we’re ready for the elements because this time of year, that becomes a big part of it.”

On the big-picture view of the selection and seeding process for the College Football Playoff

“Well, I think the first thing is, it’s our responsibility to win the conference. And when you win the conference, you’re in. You know what I’m saying? I’ve always felt that way. And so, when you don’t do that, you put yourself at risk. I think there’s a lot of opinions that get thrown back and forth. I don’t think where I’m at right now, it’s worth me getting into all that. We are where we are. I think we’ve got a great opponent here. I do think as we move forward, like you said, there’s a lot of different ways to look at it, and it’s not apples to apples. 

“Every year I think hopefully, we get more and more down the road of what it’s supposed to look like, what equity is. But I think when you think about where it was, even last year where there’s four teams, now you’re talking about 12. So, the conversation [is] about just 10, 11, or 12 get in as opposed to 5, 6, 4. I think that that’s better. And no matter how many teams we have come in, there’s always going to be some of that conversation because it’s not all the same because the conferences are different. 

“Some teams play nine conference games, some teams play eight conference games. You know? Are you focusing on the losses? Are you focusing on the wins? I think there’s a lot to be said for that. I do think the quality of wins, certainly in my opinion, probably matter the most. There’s a lot of different ways to look at it.”

On Ohio State looking past Tennessee to other possible matchups later in the playoff

“Oh, jeez. Yeah. No. We’re not there at all. No. No. We got to win this first game. Yeah. We got to win this first game. We got to and then build from there. There’s no question. I don’t think there’s one person in this building that’s looking way down the road other than the fact that when they look at who we may play down the road, we played some of these guys already. So, I think there’s a bunch of confidence in the fact that we know what these guys are like. 

“We played them (Oregon) and we feel good about rematches down the road or playing them this season. That being said, you got to win this game. I’ve already talked to our guys about that last week. When you’re in this style of play, you got to get that first win. You got to get started and build some momentum into the playoffs. So, that’ll be our focus in making sure we win this game.”

On if he’s spent extra time with the offense after the Michigan loss 

“Definitely been spending some time with the offense, and we’ll look at it and see whatever makes the most sense to win this game, we’ll do. Like, whatever it takes. And  we’ve already been looking at Tennessee as you can imagine. Well, we’ve been looking at them, and so now we know for sure. So all the stuff’s been done ahead of time. Guys have got a head start on this thing, so we’ll dive into it tonight hard into tomorrow, and then have a really clean game plan probably by Tuesday with third down, red zone, goal line, all those things tied in so that we got about 10 days to work it, flush through all the issues. And so I think that’s the good part of this thing. It’s not too far where you got a month where you’re kind of in bowl prep, but it’s also not a week where it’s on. You get to kind of two weeks to work on this thing and work through the issues and try to put our guys in the best position to be successful. So, yeah, I’ll make sure I’m a big part of it and whatever it takes to get done, we’re gonna get done.”

On what stands out about Tennessee’s defense on first impression

“Their front is very good. On the edge, inside. Both corners are tremendous. They do a nice job. They’ve stopped the run very well this season and lead  a lot of statistics, defensively, certainly SEC. So it’s gonna be a great challenge for our guys. We’ve played against good defenses this year, but this will be one of them.”

On if knowing the opponent is the next step in getting over the Michigan loss

“Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. When you have a target and you got a mission, I mean, that’s where your focus goes. Until then, you’re a little bit in limbo. You know it’s coming, but you don’t know. We kinda felt like this may shake out like this. So we’ve had an idea, but now we’re in it. Now you know exactly what it is. Now you’re really diving into it, and I’m telling you right now, our guys are excited about it. You could feel it up there in the training table. And we’re gonna have a great week of practice this week, and the coaches are excited. And so here we go. This is an opportunity that we gotta go jump on right now. And I just think back to what this game could be, a Saturday night game, 8 o’clock, first playoff game ever in the Horseshoe. I mean, it’s gonna be electric. It’s gonna be, where the fans feed off the players, the players feed off the fans, and, again, a historic game. So a lot to be excited about in this game.”

On offensive lineman Josh Padilla and Luke Montgomery potentially getting more opportunities with a banged up offensive line

“Well they’ve been practicing and working towards it, and I think they deserve an opportunity to compete the next two weeks to see if they can find themselves in a role. And that’s kinda where we are. And I think a big part of that is how we came out of last game.”

On if their emergence means Donovan Jackson will stay at offensive tackle

“Probably. Yeah. We’ll look at a couple different things, but right now, that’s still a possibility too. You know, George could really show something this week and we can make that move there. But right now, he’s gonna be at tackle.”

On his reaction to Kirk Herbstreit saying they may be better off playing a road game because fans might boo

“Well, that happens sometimes on a three-and-out anyway, so we’re good. We’re used to it. No. I mean, we’re fired up to be at home. We can’t wait to be at home. It’s gonna be a great atmosphere, and our guys are fired up to go finish the season with a win in Ohio Stadium.”

On the morale of Ohio State ahead of the matchup with Tennessee compared to the morale last season before they played in the Cotton Bowl

“Well, the first thing is, last year we didn’t have an opportunity to win a national championship playing in the Cotton Bowl. This year, we’re in the playoffs with an opportunity to play in the national championship. That’s the first thing. I think the morale of the team right now is, we’re excited. I’m not gonna sit here and tell you last week was not was not fun for anybody, but, you know, we have a new target. We know that the national championship is on the table, and all of our focus is moving forward.”

On how he has seen Ohio State’s receiver room grow throughout the course of the season

“Yeah, it starts with Emeka (Egbuka). He’s a captain. He’s a leader, and, you know, he’s been a warrior for us. He’s productive. He’s the leader of that room. And then it quickly goes to Carnell (Tate), who really had a very good season for us. We’ve huddled this season, and when you look at the number of snaps that we played this season, maybe it hasn’t been as many as we’ve had in the past. That was on purpose for a lot of reasons. And so maybe his numbers aren’t as high, but he’s a huge part of our offense and will continue to be a huge part of our offense. He’s a tremendous player and one of the best wide receivers in the country in my opinion. 

“And then there’s Jeremiah Smith. To go along with Brandon Inniss, and Bryson Rodgers, and some of those other guys that are still very good players who are a big part of where we are going into this game and our future. But as you know, Jeremiah has exceeded expectations in year one. Now we’re gonna need him to play his best right here. For a young player to come in with the maturity he’s had and handle himself the way he has, has been just a joy to be around. So, for us to make this run, he’s gonna have to continue to do what he’s doing. Now he doesn’t need to do anything more than what he’s doing, by the way. Doesn’t need anything extraordinary. Just needs to continue to do what he’s doing and take care of the football, and run his routes at a high level, and continue to prepare the way he’s done all season. It’s a great group. A lot of leadership there, a lot of production, and certainly a huge part of our offense.”

On himself being viewed as someone who is more aggressive in big games

“Yeah, I think you do have to be that way. And I think it’s how you coach, it’s how you approach it, it’s how the guys play, it’s confidence, it’s all those things. We gotta do that in all three phases. We have to be that way, and we will. We will. Every year when you get into these games, like you said, you gotta go after people. You gotta be aggressive, and we have to do that. We got to game plan the right way. And a big part of that is the confidence going to the game, making sure that you know what you’re doing, that you know that you feel like the game plan is clean and that you can execute at a high level, and then you go to work. But, I know it maybe doesn’t feel like that coming off the last game, but once you get away from it and you get focused on the new opponent, you know, it’s easy to build confidence going into it knowing when you look at the body of work of what guys have done this season, there’s a lot to point to is my point. And when you look at the guys around you, you know you got good players next to you. We’ll do everything we can to address the issues coming off the last game so that we can attack and we can be aggressive in the game.”

On if he was surprised Ohio State ended up being ranked No. 8

“Well, based off of what was said coming off of last week, you know, of the excerpts that I heard where the conversation was the teams that had no more games to play, there really wasn’t gonna be much movement, that was said, and that there probably wasn’t gonna be a lot of data points for the other teams, I just — not to get into the specific teams — but the question would be, like, if Penn State were to lose by multiple scores or whatever, would that drop them down below us because we had beat them? I think all these conversations came into play. So, you know, it was a, I guess, a one-score game, eight points. And so, you know, they decided to make sure that they didn’t penalize them for being in a one-score game in the championship game. You know? Whatever. You know what I mean? At this point, it’s like, this is what it is. We got a home game. We’re playing Tennessee, and that’s it. That’s what we got. The one thing about this that I do like is the fact that, you know, you control your own destiny. We didn’t have an opportunity to play in that game. We lost our last one. So now here’s the situation that we have. Now we gotta go make the best of it.”

On if he feels like there is pressure to make a deep playoff run after Ohio State lost to Michigan

“Like, I don’t think right now that that’s the case because, you know, like, coming off of that last game, is there pressure to win that game? Yes. And I just think that, like, we moved on from that. You know what I mean? It didn’t go well. You know? Did people press? I mean, you can say yes or no on that, but, like, we don’t want that anymore. Like, we wanna make sure that when we’re playing in this game, we’re playing free, we’re playing with our focus on winning the game and not worried about the consequences. And so that’s what we’re gonna do in this game. That is what it is. We’re fired up to be at home, too. I mean, this is, again, I keep saying it, but a historic event for everybody. This has never been done before, and I think our guys are gonna have that approach.”

On how much excitement there would be to have a rematch against Oregon in the Rose Bowl

“Well, like I said, I think when our guys look at the teams that are in the 12 teams, you know, our guys have a reference point on a lot of those teams. So we’ve played some of these teams before. We know what they look like. We know what it feels like. Now Tennessee is not one of them. So this is gonna be new, and so we gotta go to work. And that’s where the focus is gonna be because, as you know, the hardest one to get is the first one, and then we’ll go from there. But I think that’s a big part of the excitement of our guys when they look at the 12 teams. You know, there’s nobody up there that they say, you know, we can’t beat those guys. We feel like there’s everybody in the draw we can beat. Now we gotta do it one at a time, and we gotta make sure that we’re in the first game.”

On Nico Iamaleava, Tennessee’s offense

“Very innovative coach (Josh Heupel). I think the quarterback has a strong arm. Running back (Dylan Sampson) is excellent. Think he’s All-SEC, runs low to the ground. They spread you out and try to create space issues for you. I think the receivers, you know, some big ones. There’s some quick guys in there. I mean, they’re talented. And so, they try to put as much stress on you, especially with the space and the tempo. So we gotta be prepared to play fast in this game. We’ve already kinda started that process here in what we’re gonna do for this week and, you know, getting lined up and making sure that our guys got their cleats in the dirt and go play football. Because, again, how do they try to stress you out? They try to stress you out horizontally, vertically, and then with their tempo.”

On how much fact that it’s an SEC vs. Big 10 matchup adds to the game

“It’s a great matchup against two teams that really don’t get to play each other very much. Two great brands in the playoffs. I think when you looked at it a few years ago, like, this is the type of game that you’re like, ‘okay, this could be a great environment against two very good teams.’ And so this is what we got.”