The Ohio State Buckeyes are back in the win column after defeating Northwestern 28-19. 

It took three games for freshman quarterback Luke Fahey to find his connection with Jeremiah Smith, but Saturday’s win marked a boost in confidence for the Buckeyes, who entered The ‘Shoe on a two-game losing streak. 

Here’s the top quotes from Ryan Day and Fahey after the much-needed win.

Bouncing Back After Back-to-Back Losses

Ohio State’s playoff hopes took a hit last week after a 41-28 loss to Oregon. It was the second straight loss after the Buckeyes fell to unranked USC the week prior, marking the first time since 2011 that Ohio State lost two in a row in the regular season. 

Day was proud of how his team bounced back against Northwestern after going through a rough stretch.

“As you know, the last two weeks here haven’t been fun. It was good to see some guys smile in the locker room. Trying to tell these guys, we forget they’re 18 to 22 years old,” Day said. “Life is about how you handle adversity. When you go through a week the way we did, where you feel like you’ve squandered an opportunity, the ability to bring everybody together and play the way we did today in terms of effort and emotion, speaks to the character of the guys in that locker room.”

The win brings Ohio State’s record to 7-3. Although the Buckeyes’ playoff odds are low, Day is focused on finishing the season on a high note.

“One of things we talked about was embracing our reality. This is what it is,” he said. “Not that everything’s lost, there’s still opportunity out there. Who knows what’s going to happen? I’m not sure what’s going to happen today or in the next two weeks. But, all we can do is show up and play with great passion and great effort and put that on film and finish the last three games with wins, so when we walk out of that locker room here in two weeks, we can hold our head high knowing that we finished this the right way.” 

Jeremiah Smith’s Targets

Jeremiah Smith was targeted 17 times and finished with 11 catches for 117 yards and a touchdown, breaking the Big 10 career receiving yards record. 

In 29 offensive plays for the Buckeyes in the first half, the star wide receiver was targeted on 10 of them. 

Day was asked about his intention of getting Smith the ball:

“At the end of the day, the number one goal is to win. But we also have an obligation to this young man,” Day said. “What he’s done for our program, who he is as a person, how he plays, what he does for his teammates, what he means for this program. He deserves the opportunity to touch the football.” 

Ohio State officially launched its Heisman campaign for Smith this week, and Day is in full support of his top receiver. 

“The award goes to the most outstanding player in college football. I know there’s a lot of great players out there, but, first off, this isn’t just one year, not that the Heisman has anything to do with years previous. There’s a lot of testimony to what type of player he is,” Day said. “Going into the season, knowing that everybody in the country wants to shut him down, he’s still able to produce at a high level with a freshman quarterback now… This guy is completely dominant.”

Luke Fahey Getting More Comfortable 

Fahey earned his first win as a Buckeye, completing 21 of 32 pass attempts for 201 yards and three touchdowns. 

After two losses, the true freshman feels he’s starting to settle in. 

“I’m starting to get a little bit more comfortable, but I don’t think you can really get comfortable in this position,” Fahey said. “We’ve got to keep growing, and there’s a lot of times where you’re not going to be comfortable, but this one was really important for our team because no one understands the work that we’ve put in to get to this point.” 

Earlier this season, Smith said it would take some time to build a connection with Fahey. After Saturday’s display, the quarterback feels the duo is making progress.

“I definitely think the chemistry’s coming along a lot more. I’m being able to talk to him a lot more, getting more reps with him,” Fahey said. “He’s a great player with a great attitude, so it certainly makes my job easy to kind of target him and get him the ball.” 

Fahey will look to further solidify Smith’s Heisman campaign and keep the Buckeyes in the win column on Saturday, November 21st, as they take on Nebraska for their final away game of the season.