Overview

• Day urged players to ignore outside praise, saying the Buckeyes have “accomplished nothing” yet and must improve weekly despite a 5-0 start and the top ranking.
• At Tuesday’s press conference, Day said redshirt decisions for C.J. Hicks and Malik Hartford will be evaluated week to week and finalized after the season.
• Defensive end Kenyatta Jackson is “hopeful” to play Saturday, Day said, while he emphasized offensive efficiency over tempo and praised guard Josh Padilla’s practice-driven playing time.
• Day called Illinois at Memorial Stadium a physical test and dismissed the Illini’s lopsided loss to Indiana as an outlier when assessing the opponent.
• Quarterback Julian Sayin leads the nation in completion rate at 80.2% with 1,313 yards and 13 TDs, and a revamped defense under Matt Patricia is allowing 5.5 points per game without a red-zone touchdown allowed.