The Buckeyes escaped with a 21-17 win against Nebraska despite a dismal performance in football, allowing just 64 rushing yards on 2.1 yards per carry. Ryan Day and the offensive staff rode with Zen Michalski all week, with Day saying they wanted to let him work through his first-start jitters.

With Michalski suffering an injury late in the game, Day added that the Buckeyes are not committed to Donovan Jackson at left tackle after he kicked out to finish the game. The Ohio State head coach also praised his defense’s efforts in the win.

• Day thought his team showed toughness by rallying late to win the game. “The way we went out in the fourth quarter and won the game, that’s what we talked about in the off week. … At the end of the day, you’ve got to win the game in the fourth quarter. … Now we’re going to look back and saying we shouldn’t be in games like this… We knew they were going to play us really hard… We can build on that We’re going 1-for-10 on third down and we’re going to run the ball as we did.”

• Day felt that Ohio State’s shortcomings in the run game were one of the main causes of the offense’s struggles. “We have to be able to run the football. … We were explosive in the passing game … but I really liked the way the defense played. Played with energy, played with fire.”

• With Zen Michalski also out at left tackle, Day said moving Donovan Jackson outside was the plan to get out of the game, but the team will still evaluate its options going forward. “We need to talk about it, figure it out.”

• Day thought the performance of linebacker Cody Simon was a microcosm of the entire defense. “I thought we played like that defensively. We played angry, played possessed. … It has to be consistent week after week after week.”

• Day had no comment on the targeting call against linebacker Arvell Reese.

• On the offensive line: “We didn’t run the football.” After reviewing the rushing stats for the Buckeyes, Day added, “That’s not even good enough.”

• Day said the Buckeyes still have confidence in Jayden Fielding to make field goals.

• On why Zen Michalski stayed in the game the entire game: “It felt like his first start he had to play through it. I didn’t want to panic and pull him out… there’s some things you go through. We wanted him to play that through and see how that went.”