This Saturday’s marquee match-up in college football pits the undefeated and third-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes against the undefeated and seventh-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions. Not much separates these two tradition-laden powerhouses, and the difference may come down to the fact that the game is being held in Columbus, rather than State College.

Ryan Day, head coach of the Buckeyes, hopes that home-field advantage will materialize into an edge on the gridiron. He knows what the deafeningly passionate fans inside Ohio Stadium, with a capacity over 100,000, can do for his team—just as he knows what one man, in a different Ohio State sports facility, has done for him.

“I tell at him a little bit,” says Ty Tucker.

Tucker doesn’t run the weight room or the track at the university. He’s the director of tennis, a sport that can help a coach managing a pressure-filled situation better than any squat rack or wind sprint. Tennis trains Day’s mind, says Tucker, and that can help translate to success in football.

“Absolutely, it’s a big stress reliever,” Tucker says of Day’s connection to tennis. “I think it’s his fun part of the day.”

“Letting out some steam for me, during the season, is really helpful,” says Day. “You have physical health and mental health, certainly in the environment I work in, and the pressure that comes with it. Having that outlet has been great.”