LOS ANGELES -- Even after a 13-game grind and potentially three more games to go if Ohio State is going to win a national championship, coach Ryan Day said Tuesday his team couldn't be in better shape.
"I feel like all things considered that we're as healthy and as strong and as fresh as we've been all season," Day said. "I think right now we're battle-tested. I think we've built depth, and when we put the roster together, we knew that this was going to be the case, that we had to be strong and powerful late in the season and continue to build as the season's gone on."
Ohio State and Oregon will meet for the second time this season Wednesday in the Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential. Ohio State (11-2) routed Tennessee 42-17 back on Dec. 21 in the first round of the playoff. Oregon (13-0) last played on Dec. 7 in a 45-37 Big Ten championship game win over Penn State.
In the new 12-team playoff format, teams that lose in their conference championship games would have to play 17 games to win the national championship (and 16 games at the minimum), making this the longest FBS college football season in history.
"For us, it's something you prepare for throughout the season, knowing what the season could look like and having a 365-day plan of how you want to prep for these moments," Oregon coach Dan Lanning said.
"I'd have to give kudos to our sports science staff, our training staff, our weight room staff. Our team is relatively healthy. Nobody feels great at this point in the season because of the time of the season that you're in, but our players are putting up some [personal bests] in the weight room or doing some unbelievable things at this point in the season. When you talk about going into Game 14, I think that's huge. Kudos to our staff and the job that they've done, making sure they stay fresh."
Ohio State hasn't avoided injuries. Center Seth McLaughlin and offensive tackle Josh Simmons both suffered season-ending injuries earlier in the year, forcing the Buckeyes to dip into their offensive line depth. Simmons is a likely first-round NFL draft pick.
"Although we've had some injuries in certain positions, I feel like right now we're playing as fast and as violent as we played all season," Day said. "So there's a lot that goes into [managing a longer season]. I won't get into all those types of things, but I do think as we continue to move forward in this format, it's something that we all need to consider."
The mental strain of such a long season also takes its toll on players and coaches alike. But no matter how loud the noise got surrounding Day, especially after the loss to Michigan, Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly said it was Day's steadiness that set the tone for Ohio State to bounce back with such a vengeance against Tennessee.
"He's been awesome and he understood when he took the job, because he'd been an assistant under Urban [Meyer], the magnitude of the job," Kelly said. "There's a lot of good things that go with a job like this and a lot of difficult things. Ryan has handled it as well as anybody, and the same way he is every day, our players are the same way every day. It's not like we come in on a Sunday and it's, 'Oh, we're going to change everything.'
"There's a consistency about him, even when things aren't going the way you want them to, and our players appreciate that. And the longer the season is, the more that consistency pays off."
Day said his mindset going into this second game against Oregon is no different than it was earlier this month prior to the Tennessee game when the Ohio State fan base was steaming over the Michigan loss at home.
"Very similar ... hungry and focused," Day said. "Any opportunity to get on the field is an opportunity to prove people right and prove people wrong, and that's just the approach of our team. We were excited to get back on the field, but we're excited about playing this game as well, a lot of football ahead of us. And that's really just been the focus. You have to learn from what's gone on in the past, and if you don't, then you're going to repeat yourself.
"As the season's gone on, we're both here in the Rose Bowl, and along the way there are twists and turns. You don't know how you're going to get to this point right here, but here we are and an opportunity to play a great team, and it's another opportunity for us to play Oregon again in the same season."