COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State’s practice schedule remains the same this week.

After a Tuesday focused on first-and-second-down play calling, the Buckeyes shift their focus to the short yardage situations: third downs and red zone plays.

“In games like this, it comes down to those situations,” Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said.

As the Buckeyes prepare for Saturday’s rivalry matchup with Michigan, that’s what Day’s focused on, encouraging his players to remain in the moment, knowing what a successful performance would mean both for the team and for the player individually.

“It’s been said long before I got here: careers are made and legends are born,” Day said on his weekly radio show on 97.1 The Fan. “That’s something we talked to the team about yesterday. When you play in a game like this, legends are born.

“You think about some of the games that have been played here, they talk in infamy for years about all the things that have happened in this game. And careers are made. The type of careers guys dream of growing up, it’s in games like this. When all the chips are on the table, that;s when guys talk about what it means to be a Buckeye and some great stories in Ohio State history are from this game.”

Al Washington has seen it from both sides.

The Ohio State linebackers coach was born in Columbus, his father playing for Ohio State, but coached for Michigan for the 2018 season.

To him, this game means everything, knowing how much work is put in from both sides.

“The ultimate amount of respect for the game, respect for your preparation and respect for your opponent because the reality is, that Team Up North is a team that has a lot of pride just like us,” Washington said in his segment of the radio show. “The ultimate respect needs to be paid when that ball is snapped.”

Right now, Day said the focus is on finishing out a stretch he knew would be tough for the team coming out of the bye week, knowing that it would have to win each of the five games heading into the Michigan game while saving the team’s best football for the end of November.

“You have to be smart about that,” Day said. “You only have so many bullets in your chambers. This is one where we have to shoot our bullets. It comes down to this game.”

In terms of an atmosphere Saturday, Day said that the team has to have its silent play-calling capabilities “ready to roll,” expected a “jacked up” crowd at Michigan Stadium Saturday, something the head coach said Nebraska helped prepare them for, especially on third down in Lincoln.

Day knows that everything is on the line during this matchup with Michigan — a trip to Indianapolis for the Big Ten championship game and a possible spot in the College Football Playoff — but that the primary focus for every season is to beat Michigan, the only game the Buckeyes prepare for 365 days per year.

“Every time you play in this game, everything is on the table for sure,” Day said. “It’s kind of like that every time we get on the field, to be quite honest with you. This year, it’s great. Two top-10 matchups, the winner goes to Indy, the loser doesn’t. That’s certainly real, but every time you play this game, it means a ton.”