“I just think last year, we were so young that we didn’t know what we didn’t know,” said Day, who is entering his fourth season as head coach of the Buckeyes. “This year we know what it’s like to lose a game. We know what it’s like to lose that rivalry game, and that was not good. And so there’s some scars there, which is a good thing.”
The Buckeyes will begin preseason practice Aug. 3, and their seasonopener against Notre Dame is set for Sept. 3.
“I think they feel the excitement,” he said of his team. “I think they feel the anticipation. I think they just feel the community rally around this team.
“But that first game being a night game is – I mean, how else do you cut it? It’s going to be electric, and our guys know that. So there’s a little bit of urgency about them, and there’s going to be this preseason.
“Last year we started on the road at Minnesota, and that was a big conference game on the road with a very inexperienced team. So we had to play well in that game. That’s similar this year. Now we’re at home and a little bit more experienced team, but the plan’s going to be the same. We’ve got to play really good football in that first game.
“I think, when you look at our season, we have to have competitive stamina. We have to play really good at the beginning of the year, and we’ve got to play really good at the end of the year. That’s the challenge of being Ohio State — you’ve got to win them all. So competitive stamina is one of the things we’ve been talking about as a team.”
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