Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes entered their match with the Penn State Nittany Lions I really need a victory.

After losing to the Oregon Ducks on the road and struggling to defeat the Nebraska Cornhuskers, pressure was mounting for Ohio State to prove it could win a deciding game. That’s exactly what they did this week.

Hitting the road and defeating the No. 3 ranked team in the country is the definition of a declared victory.

Beating Penn State is exactly the kind of win they needed to start securing their spot in the College Football Playoff. It would take a total collapse for them to not make the playoffs at this point.

Following the victory, Day spoke out on the importance of the victory for the Buckeyes.

“We were at a crossroads. It was a big game for us. We didn’t really want to say it publicly. But we said it behind closed doors. It was a big game for us for many reasons. To get a top-five win like this on the road in a tough environment, moving (Donovan Jackson) to left tackle – we felt like before this game it was going to be a tough environment. “

The simple statement that Ohio State was at a crossroads speaks volumes. The team had to prove to themselves that they belonged. A defeat would have put them in an incredibly high pressure situation going forward.

He also talked about how the team is feeling after the big win against the Nittany Lions.

“But I can tell you, coming out of this locker room, there’s a lot of guys in this room that are excited. This is probably the liveliest locker room I’ve been in in a long time. … We’re going to enjoy- tonight – coaches, players, staff, everyone involved It’s a moment we have to take advantage of. There was a lot of work put into this match.

Needless to say, the Buckeyes deserve to enjoy every second of the victory celebration.

However, the work has only just begun. Ohio State still has a tough matchup against the red-hot Indiana Hoosiers in a few weeks and they finish the season against the Michigan Wolverines. The Buckeyes need to take care of business in these two games.

Coming out with a win against Penn State was a great stepping stone toward the ultimate goal of a national championship. But Ohio State has a long way to go to reach that goal and they need to hang in there and continue to improve.