Day looks for improvement ahead of Texas showdown

Five things Ryan Day talked about Tuesday in his weekly press conference when he previewed No. 1 Ohio State's game at No. 4 Texas on Saturday: 1. Ohio State's offensive line will be evaluated this week in practice to see if there might need to be any changes in personnel or positions. Looking back at last Saturday's 56-3 win over Ball State, Day said, "There was some good but some other things we've got to improve on. I think early on we didn't run the ball the way we wanted to and then it opened up better in the second half. "So we will continue to evaluate that throughout the week and figure out if we have the right mix out there. The good news is we do have flexibility if we need to. We're going to evaluate the week and see how that goes." 2. Texas' past success at defending Jeremiah Smith. When OSU beat Texas 28-14 in a College Football Playoff semifinal in 2024, Smith had 1 catch for 3 yards and when the Buckeyes opened last season with a 14-7 win at home over Texas, Smith caught 6 passes for 43 yards. The Longhorns kept him out of the end zone in both games. "We know there will be a plan to try to stop Jeremiah. It's no mystery that when the ball is in his hands good things happen so he will always be part of how we game plan and what we do. We all know the impact he can have in games. We're going to work hard to make sure he has a major impact on the game," Day said. "If someone does something to try to stop Jeremiah other guys have to step up." 3. Freshman running back Legend Bey. The very good part of the electrifying Bey's Ohio State debut last Saturday was a 25-yard touchdown catch and a 24-yard run. The not so good part was a pair of bad decisions on kickoff returns. "I think you saw the talent and you saw the youth. So we're going to continue to build on that," Day said. "I think he has the right attitude. He's open to coaching. Lock (running backs coach Carlos Locklyn) has been working really hard. He's transitioning from playing quarterback (in high school) to other positions. We're going to bring him along as fast as we can because I think we all see what can be." 4. The growth and improvement of Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin and Texas quarterback Arch Manning since last season. "They're two totally different players now. As you watched Arch play last season he got better and better and better. I thought he was playing some really good football at the end of the season and did some really good things the first game of this season last Saturday," Day said. "He can beat you with his arm, he can beat you with his feet. He has really improved." 5. The importance of the running game Saturday. "We know that's going to be a huge part of the game Saturday. We've got to be able to run the ball and stop the run," Day said.