Halfway to Unbeaten Regular Season, Ohio State Hits Pause Button

Off week affords Buckeyes chance to rest, reflect on 6-0 start

It would be a violation of the traditional football code for Ohio State coach Ryan Day to say his team has taken their first six games anything but one at a time.

So, consider Day in violation.

Now that the Buckeyes have completed the first half of their regular season unbeaten, they are gathering for what Day admits he targeted as the second of three portions that comprise the 2019 chase for the Big Ten championship.

"When we looked at our season, we saw this first six games as a chunk," Day said. "We (have) a bye week and then we have two games. We have (another) bye week and then we finish with the last four."

The Buckeyes, then, are in one respect right on schedule and in almost every other far, far ahead of schedule:

• No one realistically expected quarterback Justin Fields to be this good, with 26 touchdowns rushing and passing combined against only one interception and two lost fumbles.

• No one expected an Ohio State defense to be this stingy, ranking No. 2 overall (223 yards per-game) and No. 4 in points allowed (8.6 points per-game).

• No one expected OSU's Big Ten road schedule to morph from daunting to inviting, but it has because of mammoth offensive struggles at Nebraska (already a 48-7 OSU victim), Northwestern and Michigan.

 The 1-4 Wildcats have scored more than one offensive touchdown twice in five games, and in one of those they only scored twice.

OSU 6-0 for fourth time in five seasons

Good luck pulling an upset in Evanston on Friday, Oct. 18, against an Ohio State attack that puts up 54 points per-game.

"The first goal was to get 6-0 and now here we are," Day said. "We’re entering into the next phase here. And it’s good to build confidence, good to know everything we’re working on is paying off because there’s been a lot of hard work that have been put in here, a lot of hours — physically, emotionally, mentally, meetings, lifts, workouts. There’s so many of those things that have happened. So to see that pay off is great."

Ohio State's two toughest remaining games loom Oct. 26 against Wisconsin and Nov. 23 against Penn State.

Both the Badgers and Nittany Lions are unbeaten, but both must play in Ohio Stadium, where OSU has not lost a conference game since November of 2015.

"We all know that doesn’t mean anything if you don’t win the next one," Day said. "So (we're) keeping that chip on our shoulder and making sure that we haven’t proven anything yet, just that we have the capability to do well, but we’re just halfway through the season and we’ve got a long way to go."