Ohio State Coach Reveals How Important Penn State Win Was

Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day spoke out about just how important beating Penn State was.

Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day watches warm ups prior to the NCAA football game against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pa. on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes came into their matchup with the Penn State Nittany Lions badly needing a statement win.

After losing to the Oregon Ducks on the road and struggling to defeat the Nebraska Cornhuskers, the pressure was building for Ohio State to prove that they could win a statement game. That is exactly what they did this week.

Heading on the road and taking down the No. 3 ranked team in the nation is the definition of a statement win.

Beating Penn State is exactly the kind of win that they needed to start securing their place in the College Football Playoff as well. It would take a total collapse for them not to get into the playoffs at this point in time.

Following the win, Day spoke out about just how important the win was for the Buckeyes.

"We were at a crossroads. This was a big game for us. We didn't really want to publicly say that. But we said that behind closed doors. This was a big game for us for a lot of reasons. To get a top-five win like this on the road in a tough environment, moving (Donovan Jackson) over to left tackle — we felt like going into this game, it was gonna be a difficult environment."

Simply the statement that Ohio State was at a "crossroads" says a lot. The team had to prove to itself that they belonged. A loss would have put them in an incredibly high-pressure situation moving forward.

He also spoke out about how the team is feeling after the big win over the Nittany Lions.

"But I can tell you, coming out of that locker room right there, there's a lot of guys in that room that are excited. Probably the most animated locker room I've been in in a long time. ... We are gonna enjoy this tonight — coaches, players, staff, everybody involved. This was a moment that we have to enjoy. There's been a lot of work that was put in for this game."

Needless to say, the Buckeyes deserve to enjoy every second of celebrating the win.

However, the work has just begun. Ohio State still has a tough matchup against the red-hot Indiana Hoosiers in a couple of weeks and they finish out the season against the Michigan Wolverines. The Buckeyes need to take care of business in those two games.

Pulling off the win over Penn State was a great stepping stone towards the ultimate goal of a national championship. But, Ohio State has a long road ahead of them to accomplish that goal and they have to lock in and continue getting better.