Ohio State Buckeyes Coach Ryan Day: Big Ten Football 'As Good As It's Ever Been'

Day told reporters he watched some of the Big Ten football games over Ohio State's bye week, and was impressed by the on-field product.

The Ohio State Buckeyes enjoyed some well-deserved time off last week after defeating then-No. 9 Notre Dame two Saturdays ago.

Ryan Day told reporters he spent some of his bye week watching other Big Ten teams whom played over the weekend. When asked his thoughts on the quality of the conference, the Buckeyes helmsman made no mistake about his admiration for the strength of the league.

"I think that there's great football in the Big Ten," Day said. "I think there's some really good teams. I watched some of it this weekend, but I think the product on the field right now is as good as it's ever been."

The Associated Press (AP) released their updated rankings on Sunday, placing three Big Ten squads among the top-six teams in the country. The highest-ranked among the three are the No. 2 Michigan Wolverines, followed by the No. 4 Buckeyes and finally the No. 6 Penn State Nittany Lions.

Ohio State will get a chance to evaluate those top-ten rankings later this season when they play both the Nittany Lions (October 21) and the Wolverines (November 25).

Perhaps Day's glowing endorsement of the conference could have an unintended effect, however. Four new teams will join the Big Ten next season: No. 8 Oregon, UCLA, No. 9 USC and No. 7 Washington.

The addition of this quadruple will undoubtedly affect the conference in several ways, including schedule, broadcast rights and team travel arrangements. However, with the inclusion of three, top-ten teams, the power balance of the league will be thrown into question as well.

The caliber of the conference is already better than ever according to Day, but how much better will it be when three of the ten-best teams in the country come in and threaten the Big Ten's power trio of Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State?