Ohio State head coach Ryan Day has already moved on to the Texas Longhorns, and his team is shortly behind him.
Typically, a team gets 24 hours to celebrate a victory. The 24-hour rule is one that is universal, and it is that whether you win or you lose, you have 24 hours to celebrate or sulk before moving on to the next.
Well, this Ohio State team isn't your typical team, and this situation isn't a typical scenario. The Buckeyes took care of business against the Ball State Cardinals on Saturday, and now they turn their attention to the No. 5 Texas Longhorns.
Instead of the Buckeyes getting 24 hours to celebrate, Day gave them 15 minutes before turning their attention to the Longhorns.
Those 15 minutes were probably the locker room DJ's best five songs before things mellowed out and the team flipped the page.
This seems a little bit aggressive on the part of Ryan Day, but it is what this team needs. It was going to take a miracle, and then some, for Ball State to upend the Buckeyes. Ohio State handled business and did so convincingly, and now they stare down one of the games that could define their season.
Day finished his quote by saying that it is this scenario that will define their entire season. They have a handful of high-leverage road games that they will have to be totally ready for.
Whether it is their trip to Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, a trip out to USC in Los Angeles, or the trip to Bloomington to take on the Indiana Hoosiers, Ohio State has to be ready to win on the road.
Day's team was actually very impressive on Saturday against Ball State. They were handed several different moments of adversity that they handled flawlessly.
Outside of that very first drive, the Buckeyes rolled with the punches, and the result was a really well-played game.
They had three drives of over 80 yards that ended in 6 points, including a 99-yard methodical drive that went right down the field.
Day can sleep easy tonight knowing that his quarterback has become a leader and the best player on his team is better than anything that we could have ever imagined.
His team took care of business against Ball State, but they were supposed to. The real mark of this team is going to be what they do against the top opponents on their schedule.
If they can handle business on the road this upcoming weekend against Texas, they will get more than 15 minutes to celebrate, and will have cleared the first of many hurdles this year.
