After defeating in-state rival Ohio Bobcats, the Ohio State Buckeyes are now staring down the road against the Washington Huskies. And after a 6-7 finish, Jedd Fisch‘s roster is far from the same as it was a year ago, sketching a tough road for Julian Sayin & Co. The Buckeyes’ head coach, Ryan Day, is nodding along those lines, as he makes a bold stance on Washington’s prized quarterback, Demond Williams Jr. So, should Ohio State faithful be worried?

Well, Williams is arguably emerging as one of the fastest quarterbacks in the Power 4. Coach Day knows this and has publicly acknowledged Williams’ capacities. “He’s lightning in a bottle,” Day said per Eleven Warriors’ Chase Brown’s tweet on X. “He’s like Kyler Murray,” Day added. The head coach has been studying the Huskies’ QB film tapes and is more than impressed. “He’s a very good player. He’s got a strong arm. He’s quick, he’s fast, and a really good football player. We’re gonna have to have a really good plan for him.”

And the Buckeyes should be cautious. Bleeding into Week 4, the Buckeyes will go against their first Big 10 opponent. Against the Ohio Bobcats, they sailed comfortably, 37-9, but not very smoothly. Julian Sayin threw three touchdown passes but also two interceptions; One deep into the Bobcats’ territory, while another was in the last 15 minutes. Poor red zone executions were also observed. “Still a lot of meat on the bone,” Ryan Day said of the minuscule offensive hiccups against the Bobcats. The offense totalled 572 total yards, but finishing those drives remained an issue. On the defensive unit, Buckeyes DC Matt Patricia‘s unit could not stop a 67-yard TD from Parker Navarro to Chase Hendricks in the third quarter. In addition to that, Buckeyes’ tight end Bennett Christian’s injury seems a pressing concern.

Going deep into the season, Demond Williams Jr. chipped in impressive stats. Completing 69.4% of his passes for 480 yards, he registered two touchdowns. Moreover, he tallied 132 yards and a touchdown on the ground, defeating Colorado State and UC Davis. The head coach further compared Williams to former Oklahoma Heisman-winning quarterback Kyler Murray, who is presently with the Arizona Cardinals. Day’s son, RJ, reminded the head coach about Williams’ performance against Matt Rhule‘s prized quarterback, Dylan Raiola, a couple of years back in an Arizona State championship.

Matt Patricia also had high regard for Jedd Fisch’s boys. “They’ve got good players to get the ball to, so that’s going to be a huge challenge for us,” Patricia had praised Williams recently. Naturally, the sophomore seems ready to make more explosive plays against the Buckeyes. But he admitted that there’s loads to learn. “I feel like I’ve played ok,” he said on Tuesday, per the Huskies Wire. “I’ve been able to put the ball in play and lead some touchdown drives, and also hold people accountable, watching tape and making sure we correct what we’ve needed to fix from the first two games, and that we stay on the right trajectory.”

Is Ryan Day worried about the Buckeyes-Huskies game?

“To me, it’s just another game,” Ryan Day revealed on the Ohio State Buckeyes’ radio show. “It’s a little bit further away, but we make trips to Nebraska, we make trips to Wisconsin. It’s a few hours further than that, but that’s about it. That’s the way we’re gonna look at it.”

He stressed the execution of the play rather than the location and the travelling aspect. Away games often haul along the travel exhaustion on the road trips, but Day is least concerned about that aspect. “It’s more about us, and they have a good team, and it’s gonna be on the road. That’s more important than anything — than being on the West Coast,” Coach Day said in a conversation with Paul Keels and Jim Lachey.

Presently, at Columbus, the bye-week is about the ‘improvement week’, and going back to the fundamentals. Though for some players, such as Jeremiah Smith, Carnell Tate, and others, who logged a lot of reps as Buckeyes, they will have limited reps. It’s just the work volume depending on the player.

So, the bottom line? “The clock in Ohio is not changing. Buckeye time is not changing. If we’re playing the game at 3:30 here, then that’s just what we’re doing, just playing at a different place,” per Ryan Day.