COLUMBUS – Ohio State football coach Ryan Day’s weekly press conference on Tuesday got off to a rather unorthodox start when the first question was related to allegations of a Michigan staffer video taping opponents’ sideline signals and three questions later he was asked about the Buckeyes’ fourth-team quarterback.

Day quickly said he would have no comment on the first question and said it was possible No. 4 quarterback Lincoln Kienholz might be able to fill in for injured Devin Brown as a ball carrier in goal line situations.

Then it was on to more standard questions about No. 3 Ohio State (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) playing at Big Ten West Division leader Wisconsin (5-2, 3-1 Big Ten) on Saturday night.

OSU played great defense and produced just enough offense to beat No. 7 Penn State last Saturday.

Day said he already began reminding the players there couldn’t be any letdown this week soon after that big win.

“We talked about it on Sunday that we’ve got to bring it this week. We can’t let last week affect this week. Championship teams bring it every week. They don’t have ups and downs. We’re not allowed to have a letdown,” he said.

Ohio State’s win over Penn State was even more impressive because the Buckeyes played without No. 1 running back TreVeyon Henderson, No. 2 receiver Emeka Egbuka and No. 1 cornerback Denzel Burke, who were held out of the game because of injuries.

Day said all three are expected to be available this Saturday. “We’re expecting to have a great week of practice out of those guys, we’re expecting to have them ready on Saturday,” Day said.

“I know I said that last week and they didn’t quite get there. But we’re looking at a really good week of practice and having those guys available.”

Some other thoughts from Day:

• MCCORD’S PROGRESS: With eight career starts (7 this year, 1 in 2021), quarterback Kyle McCord “is in a much better place than he was earlier in the season,” Day said.

“He’s got two Top Ten wins under his belt. There’s got to be a lot of confidence there. But there is still room for growth. It starts with being consistent in practice and building that confidence. As coaches we have to put them in situations where the game is almost easier than practice,” he said.

• BACK-UP QUARTERBACK: With No. 2 quarterback Devin Brown unavailable this week and maybe longer, OSU’s back-up will be either 25-year-old graduate student Tristan Gebbia or Kienholz, a freshman.

“We’ll go through the week and give those guys reps (practice repetitions) and see how that goes,” Day said. “They’re at differenent spots in their careers. Devin has been getting the majority of the reps with the twos so these guys really haven’t gotten a ton of reps.”

• STATE COMPARISONS: Freshman wide receiver Carnell Tate, who has caught three passes in OSU’s two most recent games, is progressing in a way that reminds Day of some Ohio State receivers of the recent past.

“I mentioned that to someone the other day. When you look at where Chris (Olave) was that first year, and Garrett (Wilson), Jaxon (Smith-Njigba), Marvin (Harrison Jr.) and Emeka (Egbuka) they were coming on and the second half of the season is where they really made an impact,” he said.

“He (Tate) is a contributing member of the offense. He’s got a really good skill set. He has to continue growing and building for sure, but he’s somebody we feel confident putting in the game.”

• SPECIAL TEAM WOES: Three weeks ago against Maryland, a bad snap on a punt set Maryland up deep in Ohio State territory, which it quickly turned into a touchdown. Last week against Penn State, a punt hit an OSU defender and Penn State recovered near mid-field in the second half.

“Those are two strange plays but they could have cost you a game. We’ve got to be bettter. Regardless of how that shook out or just took a funny bounce, that just cannot happen,” Day said.