College Football Playoff week is finally upon us.
The media festivities have begun for this Saturday night's Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl between No. 1 Georgia and No. 4 Ohio State. The Buckeyes arrived in Atlanta on Christmas night, while the Bulldogs got to town on Monday evening.
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day met with the media on Monday afternoon. Here's what the Buckeyes' head coach had to say about the game and the Bulldogs.
Buckeyes hoping to draw on CFP experience
While Ohio State has never played in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl, it is no stranger to the College Football Playoff.
This is the third playoff appearance in four years for the Buckeyes. The players, particularly the upperclassmen, know what it takes to prepare and excel in games like this.
"We've been talking to our guys about how -- first off, just how much excitement there's going to be at the stadium, the atmosphere, the electricity, and how when you're in games like this, every yard is a fight," Day said. "Every first down, every point is going to be that way. So we've been preparing that way. We've been practicing that way, and we'll continue to do that throughout the week because we know what a challenge we have here."
Day called on his veteran players to lead the way this week. They are the ones with the most experience who will likely be the deciding factors. Among those players are linebacker Tommy Eichenberg and tight end Cade Stover, both of whom also met with the media on Monday.
The Buckeyes know they will also be going up against an opponent with playoff experience in Georgia.
"They have a lot of great weapons," Day said. "Certainly they play a high level of football. They're defending national champs and certainly undefeated this year. So we know what we're up against, and we'll continue to prepare for that."
Day breaks down his run defense
Ohio State struggled against the run in its last game against Michigan.
The Buckeyes allowed 252 rushing yards and over seven yards per carry. Michigan ripped off touchdown runs of 75 and 85 yards in the second half.
"At the end of the day, it's going to come down to fundamentals, running the football, playing really hard, pad level, tackling. Certainly like you said, you can't overcommit because then you put yourself at risk in the back end," Day said. "The coaches' job is to make sure that we put our guys in the situation to be the most successful, and then it's our guys' job to play really, really hard. So we take a hard look at certainly what happened the last game but also the challenge coming into this game."
The Georgia run game has started to find itself as the season has progressed. The Bulldogs have averaged 219 yards game over their last six contests, including 255 yards in the SEC Championship Game against LSU.
"Georgia does a great job, and I think they have a great mix," Day said. "I think, when you look at what they do on offense, they're going to try to challenge you in a lot of different areas. Certainly it starts with the run game, like you're saying. So we've got to play with great fundamentals. We have to learn how they're trying to attack us within the game and then obviously get our guys into the best position possible schematically."
Bulldog depth has Day's attention
It's no coincidence that the No. 1 team in college football is also one of the nation's deepest squads.
Georgia makes a point of rotating players in and out at virtually every position except quarterback. That has certainly caught Day's eye in his study of the Bulldogs.
"When you're playing against a really good team who plays with a lot of depth and has recruited really well, that's one of the things you have to prepare for," Day said. "What does that mean? Well, you just have to know that you're not going to just hone in on one or two guys. You've got to be aware of more than one of those guys, and that's the sign of a good team."
There are various ways for coaches to counteract that kind of advantage.
One is through the use of tempo on offense. That's something Day likes to keep in his back pocket to use when needed.
That time might come on Saturday night as his Buckyes face an elite Georgia defense.
"I think, if you have the ability to switch it up from game to game or from series to series or play to play, then it's a little bit more of a weapon," Day said. "That's something that we've kind of probably done more here in the last few years. Early on we used to play a lot faster, as you remember, just a lot of snaps, but teams have kind of adapted to that a little bit more. They've become no huddle defenses. So we tried to stay ahead of that and use it as a tool but not something we're doing all the time every game."