Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day announce a devastating news on…

Ohio State coach Ryan Day sat with Ohio CBS affiliate WBNS ahead of the Buckeyes’ playoff game Saturday against Tennessee. Despite finishing the regular season 10-2 and failing to reach the Big Ten Championship by losing to Michigan in a colossal Week 14 home upset, Day is looking toward the future in the ever-changing world of college football.

Day said despite critics discounting him for not winning close games when it matters most, there is an overarching element of surprise fans are failing to grasp: an expanded postseason. The Buckeyes appear happy to be included, facing less pressure than they did in previous years.

“We’re here [in the playoff],” Day said. “We’ve won 10 games this year. We had two top-five wins [Indiana and Penn State]. Along the way, there have been different challenges. The Big Ten changed. We had three top-five games, two on the road [Penn State and Oregon], and we took on some injuries.”

Those injuries included the departure of center Seth McLaughlin, who suffered a torn Achilles tear in late November, which ended his season indefinitely.

Although the Buckeyes are banged up, Day said he is confident his team is ready for whichever challenges are thrown their way.

“Along the way, there’s been twists and turns,” Day said. “Some that went well, some things that, obviously, we’d like to have back, but you gotta learn from those. You gotta make adjustments. I think every team that’s in this playoff right now is gonna have issues, and it’s the teams that can address those issues going into the playoff that’s gonna give themselves the best chance to win.”

Day said it’s a unique opportunity to host a home playoff game in a single elimination format like the 12-team field brings this year. The semifinal and national championship were the two games that mattered when it was only four teams. Now, and moving forward, it’s a month-long sprint to the finish line.

“We’re excited about being in this game [against Tennessee],” Day said. “We know this has been the goal all along was to get in the playoffs and to make a run at this thing. So, Tennessee is a very good team coming in here to Columbus], but we got them at home.”

Ohio State vs. Tennessee kicks off at 8 p.m. ET in the final game of a three-game slate, which includes first-round matchups featuring Penn State vs. SMU at noon ET and Texas vs. Clemson at 4 p.m. ET.