Ohio State knows what a trap game is. And Ohio State knows that Indiana is not one of them.

Heading into the Buckeyes’ return to the field Saturday night, head coach Ryan Day has been thinking a lot about last season’s game against the Hoosiers: the 35-7 lead, which turned into four touchdowns allowed within the span of the second half, which turned into a narrower one-score win for Ohio State.

Day now returns to the fact that the Ohio State defense allowed 491 passing yards and five touchdowns to quarterback Michael Penix Jr., along with 218 receiving yards and three touchdowns by wide receiver Ty Fryfogle.

“It was high-risk, high-reward,” Day remembered. “We had a bunch of big plays early on. Then, toward the end of the game, we were kind of just hanging on. We’ve got to continue to be aggressive. Some of the decision making in that game wasn’t very good, but they are a good defense. They have good scheme, good players, so we’re going to have to be on our game in terms of execution.”

Preparing for Indiana in 2021, Day doesn’t see much of a difference.

Despite the Hoosiers coming into Week 8 with a 2-4, without a win in conference play, Day sees the same defense under head coach Tom Allen, performed by an experienced unit, including senior linebackers Micah McFadden and Cam Jones.

Even if it doesn’t have Penix or if it has scored one touchdown in three games of Big Ten play this season, Day sees an Indiana offense with Fryfogle and tight end Peyton Hendershot, two integral pieces to the success of the passing game.

Besides, Day doesn’t feel like Ohio State has the ability to look past Indiana.

While the Buckeyes do control their own destiny in terms of a Big Ten Championship bid and, possibly, a spot in the College Football Playoff, Ohio State has lost. It has been beaten, something that Day wants his players to build from, but never forget.

Day feels that Ohio State should not focus on anything except the game directly in front of them, even with matchups against Penn State, Michigan State and Michigan on the horizon.

“We understand exactly what’s going on. We’re still a work in progress and we have to bring it every week. We know that. We’re not going into this game undefeated. It’s not like that,” Day said. “We have a lot of respect for Indiana. This is going to be a hard road game. Everyone in the Big Ten’s playing well this year. You have to bring it every week.”

Indiana’s just the start.

Penn State is coming. Michigan State is coming. Michigan is coming. If Ohio State continues on the trajectory of what it showed against Akron, Rutgers and Maryland, potential traps against Nebraska and Purdue could be coming too.

But Ohio State is solely focused on its routine, one it established for good in the third and fourth weeks of the season. It was a routine that the Buckeyes’ young roster had to learn, that the coaching staff had to remember after a year with busted routines due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

All Day knows is that this routine is focused on one thing this week: Ohio State’s night game on the road against Indiana.

“They have played some good teams. They have played some very good defenses,” Day said. “When you combine all of those things, and you are off by a little bit here or there, a team that doesn’t really have a great record is a lot better than you think. And I think this team is a lot better than their record indicates.

“You have to play four quarters against Indiana, so we’re going to have to plan on doing that.”