Buckeyes motivated by 'scars,' ready for Michigan

Ohio State manager Ryan Day inactive has scars from past year's nonaccomplishment to the Michigan Wolverines, and it has motivated the Buckeyes each play to marque definite this play doesn't extremity successful akin fashion.

"I deliberation you're shaped by whatever's happened successful your past, and we person scars and it motivated america each offseason," Day said. "So we've worked precise hard to get to this infinitesimal close here, and present it's clip to spell to spell hole the champion we tin and that's what we're going to absorption connected physically, mentally and emotionally to spell play the hardest crippled we've ever played. And we'll find retired wherever we're astatine connected Saturday."

The No. 2 Buckeyes (11-0) big No. 3 Michigan (11-0) connected Saturday, with the victor moving connected to the Big Ten Championship crippled and apt to the College Football Playoff. It is the 12th clip that the rivals person met with some ranked successful the apical 5.

The other emotion tied to this crippled tin sometimes origin unnecessary distractions and disrupt preparation, but Day said his squad has been locked successful and focused, partially due to the fact that of however the Buckeyes felt from past season's loss.

"I deliberation you commencement talking astir immoderate of those different things, you tin get distracted connected what the astir important happening is close now," Day said Tuesday. "I deliberation erstwhile you're playing an affectional crippled and a large crippled similar this, the easiest happening to bash is say, 'Let's conscionable get to Saturday. Let maine conscionable get to the game.' But we person to utilize each azygous minute.

"We person that countdown successful our building, and each clip a infinitesimal clicks disconnected of that is 1 little infinitesimal for you to hole for the game. So let's utilize each azygous infinitesimal we person to get acceptable to go."

The countdown is dilatory ticking toward Saturday and the full play is connected the enactment for some programs.

It was reported that Day had privately said his squad would bent 100 points connected Michigan. After the Wolverines won past season, then-offensive coordinator Josh Gattis said the Buckeyes were "a finesse team; not a pugnacious team."

"I truly don't springiness a s--- what anyone extracurricular this programme says astir our toughness," Buckeyes choky extremity Cade Stover said Tuesday. "We cognize what we've got."

Day and Michigan manager Jim Harbaugh, however, person not provided immoderate bulletin committee worldly this season.

Harbaugh said determination is nary hate, and his squad is conscionable grateful to beryllium successful this position. Day said determination volition people beryllium friction, but that helium and his squad are conscionable focused connected what volition hap connected the tract and figuring retired ways to enactment undefeated.

"I'm not going to speech astir it close now," Day said. "Maybe there's different clip to deed connected that. But similar I said, there's definite things you perceive to, there's definite things you don't. And immoderate clip you're successful a high-profile crippled with a batch of worldly going on, there's a batch of things said.

"But there's a clip and a spot to speech astir that, and it's not now."

The Buckeyes are hoping the clip and spot is aft they triumph Saturday, truthful they don't person to acquisition the feeling of different nonaccomplishment for the adjacent year.

"Our guys cognize they felt the symptom past twelvemonth and fto it simmer," Day said. "And we had to chew connected that for a full year, and it's a agelong time. So we'll spot the corrections we made, we'll spot astir the maturation that we've made and find retired who we are connected Saturday."