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OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 3, 2019

Ryan Day

Columbus, Ohio

HEAD COACH RYAN DAY: I think watching the film here for a couple days, we got our hands full. It's a very good football team, very well-coached, Coach Fickell has done a very good job of building toughness in this program.

I think it's a veteran group. I think on offense they are led by their quarterback and the running back. They both play really, really hard. They are tough players. They have won a lot of games there. They bring different things to the table that we've got to be ready for, and then on defense, very, very sound in terms of their scheme. Guys play really hard, run to the ball, and they did a great job last week and got a win against a Power Five team.

So new challenge this week. Got a lot of respect for Coach Fickell and what he's built down there. I think it's a very strong program, in great shape. So we know they are going to come in here hungry. Being in the same state we know that means a lot. We are up for the challenge but getting ready for it as we get ready for Saturday.

Q. Having have been able to digest the film, stood out to you about Justin's performance good and bad?
HEAD COACH RYAN DAY: Like I said after the game, and I was right watching the film, he played well in terms of game management. Didn't try to do stuff that wasn't there. There was some times where we did get that three-man rush and he didn't force it.

Got us going in those drives that we did and scoring later on it was because he kind of kept us on the schedule and didn't try to force the ball in there. I thought did he a good job there.

You know, a few things, reads, a few protection things we've got to clean up, but again the more experience he has, the better he's going to be.

Q. Can you talk about what you're going to have to do with him this week to get him better? What are you specifically working on in practice to get him where he needs to be?
HEAD COACH RYAN DAY: Just the offense. I mean, there's a lot that we do and there's a lot that goes into our offense in the running game, there's a lot of reads. There's things that happen presnap. There's things that happen post snap. There's things decisions that have to be made whether he gives the ball, pulls the ball, whether throws the ball in a perimeter bubble game or something like that.

And then the pass game, there's a ton that goes into that: Are we into the right route, the protection calls, the decisions in terms of progressions, the location of the ball, his technique, all those things come into play.

Q. How well did that defensive performance match-up with what you envisioned when you hired these four guys?
HEAD COACH RYAN DAY: Yeah, I think the first quarter it was exactly the way I envisioned, just both sides of ball and then it was just okay. I thought later on, I thought the second quarter defense still played good. Offense was just okay. You know, a few funky looks in there. But for the most part, I thought we started out that way, and now we've got to be able to sustain it for 60 minutes and play well in through the second half, and that's the challenge.

But do I think that we saw some guys flying around. I thought you saw some hard tackling early on. I think you saw guys running to the ball with great effort and that's what we want.

Q. Spent a couple press conferences during training camp talking about the turnovers, and you seemed to want to really clean that up and then you go and have two of them in the opener. Does that keep you up now at night? How do you evaluate that moving forward?
HEAD COACH RYAN DAY: Overall, I thought we handled it pretty good. I know two turnovers -- we want zero. The bubble one is a funky one and we'll clean that up. The other one is inexcusable, the one that J.K. spins on, the ball pops out. That cannot happen. We have to get that fixed.

But I thought in terms of throwing game, the receivers catching the ball, for the most the ball, when you look at it on film, it was secured. It was locked away. It wasn't like it was loose all over the place and balls are flying all over the place like I've seen in some of the games in opening games, but that doesn't mean anything this week. We have to get to zero turnovers because that's what the plan to win says and we have to follow that. Still be an emphasis this week and moving forward.

Q. J.K. has been doing this a long time and he knows that's important. Do you have to have a conversation? Do you do different drills with them? How do you proceed with a guy like that?
HEAD COACH RYAN DAY: I think you just learn right there. When he spun out of that, he's high exposure, and any time you spin you're putting yourself in exposed -- I think more we just teach him on that end. It's pretty good, but for the most part when he was running, the ball was locked away. I think he was crushed when it happened. You could see it in his body language. I know J.K., he's going to bounce back and make sure it doesn't happen between.

Q. For any young quarterback, how difficult of a learning curve is it to sort of like to the get forced off your spot in the pocket quickly and maybe, I don't know, not react to pressure that's not totally there yet, and is it any more difficult to get a feel for that when you are athletic and think that you can make things happen with your legs?
HEAD COACH RYAN DAY: Yeah, I think there's a long answer to that.

I think learning the play in the pocket is something that happens over time. Playing seven-on-seven, going to different camps, that's nothing like playing the game of football. You find more and more that quarterbacks are used so playing in seven-on-seven situations, that it's very unrealistic.

You see low -- in terms of like their elbow being low and they are not throwing the ball at the right level because there's a line in front of you, and you have to see over that line. When you're athletic, you find ways to survive. How do you survive? You get yourself out of trouble and run. Somebody who is maybe not as athletic, they have to figure out ways to survive; and the way they survive is getting the ball out on time, having checkdowns, having rhythm.

When you have somebody who can escape the pocket, you have to figure out ways to keep them in the pocket and train them the right way so that he feels comfortable when he's in there.

I think from day one of spring practice, where Justin is right now, is considerably different and we have to keep building on that. But he stood in there and took some shots. The one he through to Chris Olave, he took it on the chin and I thought he threw one heck of a ball right down the field.

The touchdown to Rugger (ph), He got hit right in the mouth. He stood in there. That's playing in the Big Ten and that's what it's going to be like moving forward.

Q. It didn't seem like Florida started bringing on you after you got up big, 28-0, whatever it was, how do you think the offensive line handled that, throwing different looks?
HEAD COACH RYAN DAY: After watching the film I was more pleased with the way the offensive line blocked than I thought coming off the field there. There was some funky looks. I thought there was some more yard to be had in the run game than was actually there.

Some of that goes back to you see the same defense over and over again; the runs kind of hitting the game gaps over and over again. You get into a rhythm that way. Although it wasn't clean, and they did try to bring a bunch of stuff at us, I thought for the most part we moved them.

Jonah Jackson had nine knockdowns in the game and Josh Myers had six knockdowns. Those guys played with effort, and we have to do a better job of finding the hole and making yards after contact. That's the bottom line. I know Coach Alford and the running backs will be working on that this week.

Q. Some coaches spend a lot of time discussing history with their team because they imagine it gives them perspective and motivation. Some figure they have enough on their plate; where are you on that spectrum?
HEAD COACH RYAN DAY: I like to talk to the team about where we are. So on Tuesdays, I'll have a team meeting. Today we'll have one at 2:30, and let them know where we're at. Talk to them about the team that's here.

Like you said, you don't want to just fill their head full of nonsense, but at the same time I do think that they need to know where they are. There's a lot that goes in their minds. There's a lot on their phones and social media and everything that fills their brain. They have academics. They have all their stuff they are learning and they have to game plan, but they also need to know the bigger picture.

This week we have a team coming in with a chip on their shoulder and they want to prove something to us. So yeah, on a weekly basis we'll go through all this.

Q. Will you discuss what Coach Fickell meant when he was Ohio State? Do you get that into it?
HEAD COACH RYAN DAY: No, I think they know that, and mentioned what it would mean to that staff and how hungry they are, but try not to -- like I said, get too far into the details of things. Focus on what matters.

Q. I think that you made it clear that J.K. is going to be the bell cow of offense. Do you have an opinion on how Master Teague ran the ball in the second half? Do you have any idea of giving him more carries down the stretch?
HEAD COACH RYAN DAY: I thought Master ran well. Unfortunately Master has been out for a bunch of the spring and then for preseason. So he hasn't practiced like a starter should or even a backup should. And so because of that, that stunted his progress.

But that being said, when he was in the game, I thought he ran hard. I thought he saw stuff, it wasn't always perfect, but he took care of the ball, and he was physical and he carried some defenders with him, there was contact at three. He was finishing them at 6 and 7. I thought that was a good start and that was definitely flash for us on offense.

Q. Sticking with the running back situation, just the recruiting situation, when you have a class that's this full, but there's win specific position where you thought you had some guys and they ended up going elsewhere and you get into the season months, this is your first time going through this. What's your take on the desperation to try to fill a position when things don't really go the way you planned and how do you attack just one specific position when the rest of the class is basically full?
HEAD COACH RYAN DAY: So we're full right now at running back. You have steel, you have Marcus, Demario, Master and then you have J.K. So we don't have room for another guy.

Now, that being said, we're always going to recruit a running back, and we have recruited running backs and we're going to continue to recruit running backs, so what we have to do is we have to make sure we're evaluating this fall to see what comes up here this fall.

There are some guys that we're going to continue to recruit, and you know, see where the season goes and when it gets into December where we're at. But right now, we have five running backs, and that's -- that's all we can have in terms of our numbers, and so we'll see how things shake out. We'll see who is on our recruiting board getting into December. We're going to continue looking at guys, guys that we evaluate and reevaluate and see where we are November, December.

Q. So if nobody goes pro, you don't take one?
HEAD COACH RYAN DAY: Yeah, so if somebody went pro, we'd be short one, yeah.

Q. What are the things you see when you watch Cincinnati on film that makes them successful?
HEAD COACH RYAN DAY: Again I think they are well-coached. They are disciplined. They play hard. You can tell that they are a veteran group in terms of they play with older guys. You know, I don't know how many of their guys have red-shirted but there's quite a few seniors and some grad transfers and older guys that have played football there before. Any time you have older men in your program it matters, and I think, again, it comes down there the top. I think they are not going to give you a game. You have to go win the game and take it from them, and that's on both sides of the ball. They are not going to give up a lot of big players, and they are also going to run the ball and not turn the ball over on offense.

Q. Luke Fickell and Marcus Freeman are both guys who are from here. Have you had much interaction from those guys at ail? Do you know of them at all?
HEAD COACH RYAN DAY: I don't know Marcus as well. Had a couple conversations with him and got a lot of respect for what he's done and what he did here.

And Luke, tremendous amount of respect for him. I've gotten to know Luke a little bit and his family but not a ton. Had several conversations even this summer. But again, a tremendous coach and what he's done here speaks for itself.

Q. You just mentioned the way that Cincinnati runs the ball. We've watched Michael Warren play for years in the State of Ohio. He's an interesting style of back that he can run to and through contact. When you are preparing for a back like that, how does it change defensively the way you evaluate an opponent and what that can represent in a game?
HEAD COACH RYAN DAY: Again, you don't prepare any different, but I think you need to know what people's strengths and weaknesses are. There's certain guys that, you know, like Rondale Moore at Purdue. He's more of a shifty, short area quickness guy, and then there's the bigger backs maybe from Michigan State, and then you have different styles of backs.

I think some of that has to do with the type of runs that they are going to see, but then also how are you going to get the guy down and how is the game going to progress.

You know, I think this style of back is somebody that gets stronger as the game goes on. So we need to get one guy has got to be there but two and three have to make sure to gang tackle him and get him on the ground.

Q. You mentioned the shots that Justin took in the pocket and also took several running the ball. Were you uncomfortable with how often he was hit Saturday?
HEAD COACH RYAN DAY: Yeah, those shots should not have been taken. That's some of the stuff we're talking about in terms of cleaning up. I thought he did a pretty good job of getting down what he was out there scrambling. He didn't take too many shots and made pretty good decisions in the run game.

I thought one of the times he took a sack he didn't need to. He could have thrown that away but that's all part of the learning curve. You can't replicate any of that stuff in practice. So he's learning, learning when to slide, get down, when to throw the ball away.

There's going to be times where he has to be physical, and if it's third and four and he's got to get that first down, he's going to do that. But he's also got to learn that this is a long season.

Q. Last year because of some of the limitations you had at quarterback, especially running the ball, you built some packages (indiscernible) is there a benefit --
HEAD COACH RYAN DAY: I think he does bring a different skill-set to the table. Not that -- we really didn't do that yet down there the other day. We still brought in two, three tight ends and got big and ran the ball, and I thought that was good. We need to do that. We need to set that precedent that we're going to be physical on guys and be able to move people and then throw play-action pass. That's a huge part of this thing.

But Justin does, also, bring that athleticism to the table, so that will be something we'll use moving forward. But having the ability to do both I think is important. I think it's hard on a quarterback to rely on him when it comes down to running the ball to carry that load. And so we do have two, three, four tight ends that we can put in a game and we need to get those guys in there and let them move people.

Q. Are you happy that you don't have to take the quarterback off the field?
HEAD COACH RYAN DAY: For sure.

Q. The questions about Luke, just as you've familiarized yourself with Ohio State history, how much does he come up, given he was a player here for four or five years, came back to coach, came back again as a coach, worked his way up; how much have you learned about him in your study of Ohio State history?
HEAD COACH RYAN DAY: A good amount. He's got a decorated history in terms of what he did off the field with his wrestling career and then what he did as a player and as a coach and winning a National Championship and what he did with some of the players here and recruiting.

His relationship with Mike Vrabel and all those guys that he was with, what he's done in the community with some of the charity work he's done.

Again, you know, a lot of respect and a lot of people talk about him when you talk about some of the Ohio State grates.

Q. You mentioned the tight ends in the red zone, you talked all off-season about how that was one of the most improved groups. Obviously we saw Jeremy involved in the passing game. Is that a microcosm of what you expect from that position group or is that more of a match-up thing?
HEAD COACH RYAN DAY: A little bit of both. A little bit of both. I thought that fit well in that game. You know, that's a little bit of a different feel. You know, lining up and trying to snap it with 30 seconds on the shot clock every play, as opposed to lining up two tight ends and pounding somebody. That's a little bit different.

I really think it's important for us to have both identities, so we're trying to build that identity as we go. It's not just going to happen overnight, but I think our ability to go in and out over those two different things are going to be really good.

Q. The saying in football is that you have to improve the most between game one and game two. How much do you have to improve against UC?
HEAD COACH RYAN DAY: Significantly I think. We have to play for a full 60 minutes. Those first six, seven minutes, whatever that was, was just completely dominant, but then the rest of it was just okay.

We can't take a deep breath after we go up like that. We have to continue to sustain and if we -- in that game, if we take some of the starters out, that's the coaches decision. We have to make sure we're putting our pedal to the metal and finning off game.

This is a team that won a lot of games and they just beat a Pac 12 team and a coaching staff that I've got a lot of respect for.

Yeah, this is a team that although they are not Power Five team, their talent level is just as good as most of them.

Q. And I think all the offensive linemen were champions, you mentioned J.K. fumble. Were you displeased with how he played?
HEAD COACH RYAN DAY: No. But we all know what J.K. can do, and I think any time fumble the ball, that's a critical error, so with the plan to win, we can't have that happening.

Q. You guys got under center there pretty quick in the game. Who saw that coming? What did you like about that, Coach Day?
HEAD COACH RYAN DAY: Well, I think it gives us some versatility and flexibility in terms of what we're doing. I know you guys were asking me that all preseason, so I was trying to keep it under the vest. But yeah, it's out there now.

I think that it gives us a lot of things, and I think it gives us some direct runs. I think it gives us a play-action pass. It's good to have for a lot of reason schematically, and then we have done a good job with that. Justin and Josh have done a pretty good job of that and so we are going to keep building that package as we go.

Q. Chase Young seemed to have a game. What do you see from him, not just from a playing standpoint but a leadership standpoint? What stood out?
HEAD COACH RYAN DAY: Strong presence. Strong personality from start to finish all week. He was strong on the field. He was strong before the game, and then on the field but he backed it up.

It's funny, some guys can be leaders in certain ways, but when you're strong and in front of the team and play the way he does, that's the sign of a great leader.

Q. The second and third quarter kind of waned on you, the offense waned for a little, but what does it mean for the team, for its dauber and reputation nationwide to get off to a start like that with a quarterback that transferred in? What does that do from a confidence standpoint for the group, and also its reputation?
HEAD COACH RYAN DAY: Yeah, everybody was flying high during that time, and I think that's what we're capable of. We talked about coming out to a fast start and that was about as fast as I've been around, so that was good.

That goes to show the explosiveness of what we can be and I think everybody felt that. Now it's time to keep building on it as we go.

Q. You talked about needing to sustain after that quick start, but when you look at it, what did stall you? Was it your own mistakes? Was it taking the foot off the gas mentally?
HEAD COACH RYAN DAY: It's hard when you say, well, we scored 28 points in the first half. You'd be like, wow, that's pretty good, a pretty good day, I'd take that because we're on pace for about 60.

But when you start that fast, it's like, okay, why don't we score every series. A little unrealistic. They have good players, good coaches and they do a good job.

The one drive right there, we hit the swing to Demario, he kind of got hit late there, they didn't call it, okay. And the next play we get the offensive pass interference on Olave. That ball probably would have been on the 10-yard line. They call offensive pass interference. We throw the fumble on the backwards pass to Garrett; they get the turnover just like that.

Some of those things. We have a couple holding calls that got us off-schedule and didn't convert on third down. So some of those things.

And I think we came out in the third quarter and we pounded on them a little bit and got a couple drives going and then kind of finished the game. A little strange the way the game played out, but a lot to learn from.

Q. Is there any improvement area that you look at from week one to this week that jumps out at you, like we have to get this fixed?
HEAD COACH RYAN DAY: Just overall execution and playing clean, and no turnovers, for sure, and then the penalties have to get cut down.

I thought we did a much better job; that's been one of our emphasis points with the procedure issues. You know, there was a couple holding calls. We've got to get our hands inside on that, but for the most part it was pretty clean that way.

We've got to win the line of scrimmage, run the ball and be explosive in the pass game and then go from there and do a good job in the red zone.

Q. You talked about Justin already, but looking back, was there a favorite play or sequence that got you particularly excited about his potential?
HEAD COACH RYAN DAY: Believe it or not, it was one of his throwaways on third down. There was nothing there. It was something you maybe not even noticed. It was third and eight, three-man rush, they got a guy through, there was nothing there and he took the ball and threw it in the stands.

To me, that was my favorite play of the day because he's understanding what it means. It's very hard for somebody who hasn't played a lot of football to understand that that play right there is just as important as the play you make because if you try to throw in the ball in the traffic and turn the ball over, it's a disaster.

We have a good defense, punt, put them inside the ten-yard line and we'll get the ball back soon enough. We'll have another shot.

There was several of those. There was actually a couple where he didn't have it, and he got to us to like second and six and scrambled for four yards. Those are my favorites. The one, the post to Olave, the throw to Jeremy, those are what I'm talking about in terms of the big plays will come, but you have to manage the bad plays and don't make bad situations worse.

Q. Chris Chugunov was the guy who came off for Justin (ph). Was he the backup?
HEAD COACH RYAN DAY: We don't have a backup. We decided to put Chris in the game at the end, and he's had a good camp. But those guys will continue to battle it out since practice.

Q. Have you talked to Chip since May?
HEAD COACH RYAN DAY: Yes, I have.

Q. Anything you share or care to share?
HEAD COACH RYAN DAY: You know, we didn't talk too much about the game really. We talked about my college coach who going through a tough time right now and a few other things. Wished him luck this week against San Diego State and we talk about those kind of things. Talked about his team. Talked about our team, kind of where things are going and that was it.

Q. Obviously without saying what it was, do you get into schematics and what didn't work or did work for them or do you not talk about that?
HEAD COACH RYAN DAY: Not really. Typically we would but there was some things that were more important at the time to talk about. So we really didn't get into all that.

Q. Luke was hired on December 10 at Cincinnati -- you were hired on January 3, I don't know if you even came in and looked around. But are you guys literally two ships that pass in the night, when you talk to him Saturday before the game, will that be the two guys have ever spoken to each other?
HEAD COACH RYAN DAY: No, I've seen Luke before. I've seen him at different events and different things.

Q. Three transfer quarterbacks all had big games. What's the challenge coaching a guy who is not recruited, not redshirted in your system and comes in -- the challenge of coaching and getting them up to speed in the right away that results in the statistical performance all three guys had?
HEAD COACH RYAN DAY: I think it's something we have to get used to in college football unfortunately, whether it was doing Haskins for one year or Trevor Lawrence playing last year or Bo Nicks playing as a freshman the other day, Sam at North Carolina and then these transfer situations.

Guys are getting on the field early. That is the trend right now in college football with quarterback play. We've just got to do a good job. You have to understand how you are teaching concepts and make sure you're not exposing them to too much early on and build their confidence as they go, and I do think there's an art to it.

It's important to not put too much on them early on and teach them certain things and then don't get rewarded for bad behavior because sometimes when you're a really good athlete, you're going to get away with things that are going to hurt you down the road in bigger, tighter games. So that's all part of the process.

Q. How did you arrive on Demario as your main return guy and how do you think he did?
HEAD COACH RYAN DAY: I thought he was solid. He was the special teams player of the week for us on special teams. I think he had 93 return yards. Just missed one to start the game. Got his heel clipped on down the 30-yard line and I thought he was solid.

There was a couple maybe he could have got his hands on on the punts. It was a funky deal. They were doing a rugby punt and kind of punted the ball across his body and that's a little bit harder to pick up and so that was -- we lost some yardage on that but he took care of the ball for the most part. That was his number one job going into the game was ball is he security, so he did that.

It's a start, but we have a new challenge this week. Overall, I thought he was solid but he can be better, too.

Q. You've said a couple times in different circumstances, failing is one of the best ways for you to get better -- and you know this by now at Ohio State, you have to learn from wins. How much do you want to push and be hard on them, even in a good win or how much do you want to make sure they know, hey, that's a good win?
HEAD COACH RYAN DAY: That's the balance you find. I mean, if it gets too negative, you don't want that, either. You've got to be positive and make sure you reward the guys who graded champions and the guys who played with energy and played hard because there was a lot of that going on.

But at the same time we have a standard here and we there's a lot of guys that didn't play up to that standard, and we have to build on that, and there's a lot of reasons why. Some of it's inexperience. There's a lot of things come into play. That's why week one into week two is a great opportunity.

This is a great opportunity for us to learn from. We have a team meeting at 2:30, practice today and got to go about getting those things corrected. We did have our practice on Sunday. We do that and work through corrections and watch the film and did our champions meetings, but this is the art of coaching right now. Now it's real and let's make the corrections and move forward.

Q. This is a backwards question and I apologize. You and Luke both were sort of like a fill-in head coach here at Ohio State. In those three games for you last year, I know all you cared about was doing the best by the team and winning those games. The idea somewhere in the tiny back recesses of your head that didn't matter as much, how did you balance the -- I hope by staying within this structure of Ohio State, I hope I can at least give people an impress of that I would be good at this. Like it's not -- it's not my -- I want them to know, yeah, I can handle that. What was that like for you?
HEAD COACH RYAN DAY: Like I said, it was day-to-day but you know when you have a job to do, you've got to fill in that role. I think sometimes you're ready for it and so many different things come into play in those situations and we had a tremendous team, tremendous coaches, tremendous administration that we all got together and we worked through that and some great leaders on that team.

Those three games, it wasn't easy and we worked through it. But when you're in that role, you have to take on that role. You have to wear that hat and it's a different hat than being a coordinator or position coach or anything like that. You have to kind of trigger that job description. I tried to do the best I could.

Q. You're here now. Did you also feel like, yeah, I showed who Ryan Day was -- not that that was the most important thing, but you have personal goals, too.
HEAD COACH RYAN DAY: Yeah, but again, it was just on to the next game for me at that point. I wasn't really thinking about any of that stuff.

If you really start focusing on things like that, you can get distracted, and I honestly just tried to do the best I could to just focus on beating -- I think it was Tulane the next game and just keep building and getting the offense going.

You know when you're in this building, there's so much that goes on. You don't really have time to think much: Game planning, meeting, practice, and it just goes and then you step outside and there's the outside world going on.

So not a lot of time to do that, and kind of we're getting into a rhythm right now as we go into game two.

Q. You mentioned taking the snaps under center gives your offense more versatility. Is that something you would have wanted for the quarterback this year, whether it was Justin or not, and specifically for him, how does it make him for effective?
HEAD COACH RYAN DAY: I don't know. Justin felt comfortable under center, and it worked. It's not like we've never tried this before.

Some things work. Some things don't. Some things make sense and that's kind of like I was talking about going into the season, what's the journey, what's it going to look like, do we have new pieces to the puzzle and trying to stay ahead schematically and it worked. Not that it wouldn't have worked in the past or with some other quarterback but it seems to be working right now. We like it.

Q. Did you give him and Meyers any advice about how to build that rapport or is that overrated?
HEAD COACH RYAN DAY: No, no, it's real. It's real. So any time we had a fumble exchange during practice, we made them both do a lap together and that started off early in the spring and as they go around the field together and run together they have a little conversation about how to get it right so gives them a little time to think that through. A little bonding.

Q. If a defense throws something at you that you're not expecting, how difficult is it to make end-game adjustments? Is that at the top of the list of most difficult things?
HEAD COACH RYAN DAY: It is. Kevin and Mike, I thought the communication was really good, and with stud, I think we're pretty good at that now. So we can recognize kind of what's going on in game and make pretty good adjustments, so take pride in that.

But yeah, that's kind of on the forefront and then you just kind of lean on everybody else to go through. But one of the things I do have to do is click over when the defense is over there to make sure if they need a time-out or something like that, I'm involved. So there is a little bit of a balance there.

Q. This week do you have to expect the unexpected from Cincinnati's defense, or do you feel like they are what they are?
HEAD COACH RYAN DAY: They will have something that we haven't prepared for. They will have a good plan and they will have a few change ups for us. I know that will be part of it and they will have had all summer to game plan and so we'll have to adjust and move on from there.

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