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Ryan Day went on ESPN’s Get Up Tuesday morning before his scheduled appearance at Big Ten Media Days in Indianapolis. At one point later in the day when his comments were being rebroadcast, the lower chyron read that Day is 40-0 against every Big Ten program except for Michigan.
In 5 full seasons as the head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes, Day has a 53-8 record. One loss was to Oregon at home — Day’s only nonconference loss as the program’s head coach. Four more losses have come in the postseason, including 2 Playoff semifinal losses.
And 3 losses are to Michigan.
Those 3 matter a bit more than the 40 other Big Ten wins.
Since Woody Hayes took over the program in 1951, Ohio State has had 6 head coaches (Day included) serve multiple seasons in the role. Five of them went at least .500 against Michigan through their first 6 years in charge. Should Day lose in 2024, he’d join John Cooper as the only Ohio State coaches to lose 4 of their first 6 games against Michigan. And, excruciatingly for Day, this year’s matchup will mark only the fifth time he has faced the bitter rivals in Ann Arbor.
Jim Tressel went 5-1 against Michigan in his first 6. Urban Meyer was unbeaten. Day has lost 3 straight.
But with Jim Harbaugh leaving the Wolverines for the NFL and Day returning what many believe to be a top 2 or 3 team in the country, the pressure has turned up.
Shortly after Day’s appearance on ESPN, SEC Network host Paul Finebaum claimed Day should be fired if he loses to Michigan this season and slammed any insistence that Ohio State can’t focus too heavily on winning The Game if it comes at the expense of their season-long goals.
Day then doubled down on that stance when he took the main stage at the Big Ten’s media conference.
“I think anytime you’re at Ohio State, we know you’re going to have expectations, but there’s always going to be chatter. There’s always going to be noise. It’s our job to block all those things out and just focus on what really matters,” Day said in response to a question about embracing expectations. “I think especially this time of year the easy thing to do is focus on the goals, focus on the end of the season, but that’s really a waste of time if we don’t build a foundation right now.
“Now, our guys, they know what the expectation is. You’ve heard some of them say what their goals are. We’re not going to shy away from that. We want to win the rivalry game, be right in this stadium right here and win this Big Ten championship, win a national championship. We know that. At the same time that can’t be our focus because that’s a distraction from where we are right now.”
It’s an attempt by Day to refocus the conversation. Ohio State has work still to do in order to become the team it hopes to be. Other coaches take similar approaches in similar settings.
But Day has something working against him.
Three years ago, at this same time, Harbaugh brought a very different approach to the rivalry.
“Well, I’m here before you, enthusiastic and excited as I ever am, always am, even more to have at it, to win the championship, to beat Ohio and our rival Michigan State. That’s what we want to do, and we’re going to do it or die trying,” Harbaugh said.
Michigan implemented a “Beat Ohio Drill” and put a banner in the weight room that read “What Are You Doing To Beat Ohio State Today?”. After his team played Michigan in September of 2021, Northern Illinois coach Thomas Hammock said he saw a Michigan team that was constructed with a singular goal — to beat Ohio State.
What followed was 3 wins over Ohio State, 3 Big Ten championships, and a national championship for Michigan.
Harbaugh embraced the importance of winning The Game. And he had to know that setting your sights on what, at the time, was the gold standard in the Big Ten would make everything else attainable.
Now, Michigan is that gold standard. That much is indisputable after a perfect 15-0 season last fall and 40 combined wins in the last 3 seasons.
Harbaugh has left Ann Arbor, but Michigan remains the team to beat for Day, and nothing else should matter until he does.
“Here’s the problem with talking about Ryan Day. You look at his record, … and it’s gaudy, nobody has a record like him, except you can’t choke the biggest game of the year,” Finebaum said. “If he can’t beat Michigan this year when he’s got probably the best team in the country, along with Georgia, after Harbaugh leaves, after all those great players depart after a national championship, he oughta be gone. It’s as simple as that.
“That’s the biggest game of the year in the Big Ten. I realize Ohio State played for a national championship a couple of years ago against Alabama. (They) only lost by 28 points. They’ve been to the Playoffs, but that program hasn’t won a national championship since 2014 when Urban Meyer was there, so quit making excuses, Ryan Day. Quit acting like your players have given up something to come back.”
An early line from ESPN Bet for the game on Nov. 30 has the Buckeyes favored by 10 points. Per Covers.com, that would be the largest point spread for the contest since the 2017 season. And ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI) says the Buckeyes would be roughly +290 to win the Big Ten — a little longer than the +150 odds at ESPN’s book.
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At any rate, Ohio State is the favorite.
The Buckeyes are second nationally in preseason SP+. They signed the No. 3 class in the country this offseason, adding blue-chip talent on top of a roster that ranked third in the talent composite last season and sits in the top half of the country in returning production.
Michigan is replacing its head coach, its stud defensive coordinator, its quarterback, and a huge chunk of production.
There are few excuses for Day this season.
“Every time I’ve gone into a season in Ohio State … you expect to win every game,” Day said. “That’s just what it is. And if you don’t think that’s the case, try losing a game at Ohio State. You’re expected to win them all. So that’s not new. We embrace it.”
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.