Ohio State Tried To Keep Intensity, Routine Through Long Break Between Games

One of the biggest things Ohio State head coach Ryan Day has preached for the Buckeyes all season has been being consistent in their routine. Ever since after the 14-7 win over Texas in Week 1 of the regular season, Day made it a point to try to make each week as similar as he could in terms of game prep so that Ohio State could play at its peak each week.

But with such a long layoff since their last game, the routine for the Buckeyes has been a little different.

The day after the Big Ten championship loss to Indiana on Dec. 6, Ohio State found out that its first game of the College Football Playoff wouldn’t be until Dec. 31, meaning the Buckeyes had to deal with 24 straight days without a game.

Defensive end Kenyatta Jackson Jr. said on Dec. 22 that it had been tough not playing a game for so long, especially with the way the conference title game ended.

“We appreciate the resting time, getting our bodies right, but we want to go out there and play the game,” Jackson said.

First-year defensive coordinator Matt Patricia coached in the NFL for a long time where layoffs this long don’t happen, so he said he’s had to lean on the people in the program who have done something like this before.

“We’d have (off weeks) in the NFL, but this is a long layover and break,” Patricia said. “(I’m) certainly trusting all the expertise here, Coach Day and (strength and conditioning coach Mickey Marotti) and making sure I’m listening and trying to learn exactly what the best thing is to get us ready to go.”

Nine days before the game when Patricia met with the media, he said that he believed the team was in a good place mentally.

“I think the intensity is right where it needs to be. They want to stay focused,” he said. “One of the things we have done is the intensity of practice has been pretty high. … Some of those really competitive periods keep everybody with their edge.”

Redshirt freshman quarterback Julian Sayin believes the break has been good for him and the rest of the offense since they had to practice against the No. 1-ranked OSU defense for so long.

“We’ve been able to get back in the routine and been through practice,” Sayin said. “It’s been good to practice against our defense and have that little break because we didn’t know who we were playing. Playing against our defense has been really challenging.”

In a way, getting back to the Cotton Bowl has helped Ohio State remain in some sort of routine since this is the third straight season the Buckeyes are playing at AT&T Stadium in this bowl game.

But Miami head coach Mario Cristobal believes that his team having already played in a playoff game and winning this season could provide some sort of advantage for the Hurricanes.

“Anytime you’re able to win a game, a tough game, a physical game, there’s a lot to learn from it, and there’s a lot of things that you know you could have done better,” he said. “But momentum is probably the hardest thing to get and keep in college football, and every time you get a chunk of it, you want to build off that.”

But the wait is finally over for the Buckeyes, with the Cotton Bowl set to begin at 7:30 p.m. EST on Wednesday.