BSB Quotebook: Ohio State 42, Tennessee 17

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day on the way his team handled adversity: “I’m proud of our seniors for a lot of reasons. One, because of the fact that they were able to finish their last game at Ohio Stadium with a win like that. I’m also proud of the way that they responded. I told them in the locker room that in life, you’re going to be defined by the way you handle adversity as a person, as a man, as a dad. So to see how they responded in this game – you could tell from the jump that they had a look in their eye that they were going to win this game. I thought they played that way.”

Day on the lead-up to the game throughout the week: “About Wednesday of this week, you could tell these guys just wanted to get on the field. It had been a long lead-up for us – weeks. And to say it doesn’t weigh on you, it does. We have a lot of pride in who we are. These guys have a lot of pride. These guys, they love each other, and they’re a great representation of Ohio State.”

Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly on using the passing game to set up the run: “It just depends on who you’re playing. There’s always a philosophical approach when you’re playing somebody based upon what their strengths are and what their weaknesses are and what you’re trying to exploit. I don’t think it’s necessarily as easy as saying, ‘You throw to set up the run.’ I’ve done that before and gone three-and-out, three-and-out, three-and-out, and we haven’t gone anywhere with it. It’s not just, ‘Hey do this, and it works.” It’s about the players executing, and I thought they executed really well tonight.”

Day on Ohio State fifth-year quarterback Will Howard’s performance: “I thought his footwork was good. We worked hard on some of those throws, and he hit a few of those right on the money. A big thing for Will is his footwork. When his footwork is on point and when he’s seeing things well, he’s as good as anybody in the country.”

Howard on the performance of the offensive line: “I’m so proud of those guys. I had to listen to them get harassed for the last three weeks. I had to sit here and act like it didn’t affect me because those are my brothers, and I go to war with those guys every single day. For them to show out and have the performance that they had tonight, it was huge, and it was against a really good front. They’re probably the second-best front we’ve seen all year. For them to come out and do what they did against those guys was huge. I’m just so proud of those guys for not listening to the outside noise and sticking their noses down and really, really getting gritty and working for everything.”

Ohio State senior offensive lineman Donovan Jackson on taking criticism after the Michigan loss personally: “To say it lightly, we took it personally about what happened last game. For three weeks everyone in the world was telling us ‘You suck.’ Half of our fan base was telling us we sucked. Half of – almost every expert and anyone with a podcast was telling us we sucked, and we took it personally. We’re like, ‘That’s not how we’re going to go out.’ We know we’re better than this s—. We’re down a couple of guys, but all of these guys in this room can go.”

Jackson on those who say football down south ‘means more’: “Big Ten football means more, but we’re just going to keep on going. We’re going to keep progressing to what we have to do.”

Howard on how the home fans were during the game: “They were great. I think (Tennessee) thought they were going to take over this place, and we showed them pretty quickly that we weren’t going to let that happen. Obviously us jumping out to a pretty quick start helped with that. I have to give credit to Buckeye Nation for showing up and being loud, and the drone show in the third quarter was pretty damn cool.”

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel on junior running back and SEC Offensive Player of the Year Dylan Sampson’s hamstring keeping him out of parts of the game: “At the end of the Vandy game (Nov. 30) he got dinged up, and it was soft tissue (injury). He had been out the first couple of weeks and got back with us. We started building him throughout the week. We felt like he was in a good spot and anticipated him not having the same type of load that he normally would have. Just early in the game he kind of retweaked it and wasn’t available there for a while.”

Heupel on how Ohio State’s roster compares to other teams Tennessee has faced: “They played really well. Coming into it, I thought their skill on both sides of the ball was as good as you’ll see. Defensively they led the country or were top five in pretty much every category. They did a good job tonight.”

Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles on the difference in his defense since their regular-season loss to Oregon: “I don’t know how different it is. There have been adjustments. There have been some different calls. But I think it’s confidence. We’re looking forward to the opportunity because it was not a great game for us. Quite frankly, I think the guys got a little pissed off, and it led to a run for us in terms of defense and where we are at statistically, which has to be No. 1 or close to No. 1 in categories. They used that game as a motivation, so I’m sure they’re looking forward to another opportunity.”

Howard on his emotions regarding the rematch with Oregon: “I’m excited. It’s going to be a heck of an opportunity for all of us. I think we’ve all been looking forward to this one and for another crack at these guys. The way that last one ended doesn’t sit right with me, still doesn’t. It still bugs me, and I’m just thankful for the opportunity that we get another crack at them. I said this before the game – in life, you don’t get a lot of second chances, so the fact that we’re getting a second chance here is a blessing from the Lord. We’re going to go out there and have some fun and let it rip because this is all we have. It’s win or go home.”