Ryan Day has a coaching record of 45-6, 32-0 and 1-2 in his four-plus seasons at Ohio State.
Three of Day’s six losses overall have come in the College Football Playoff and the Buckeyes are 32-0 against every Big Ten team, save one, during Day’s tenure. It’s that 1-2 mark against Michigan that ostensibly required a vote of confidence from Buckeyes athletic director Gene Smith.
That came during an interview with ESPN published Tuesday.
“My standards are high, our team standards are high,” Smith told ESPN. “So we talk about how do we get better and how do we make sure we are able to win the championships that we aspire to win? We look at each individual contest that got in the way of that, and we’re trying to figure out what’s the strategy to mitigate that.”
The Buckeyes dropped a second consecutive game to Michigan in 2022, 45-23. Ohio State hasn’t lost three straight to Michigan since 1995-97, per ESPN.
Day defeated the Wolverines 56-27 in 2019 and the 2020 game was canceled due to the COVID pandemic. Michigan beat Ohio State 42-27 in 2021, giving Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh his first win in the series as head coach. Harbaugh, for the record, is 2-5 against the Buckeyes.
John Cooper went 111-43-4 in 13 seasons as head coach at Ohio State. But despite that .715 winning percentage, Cooper is remembered for a 2-10-1 mark against Michigan.
“The rivalry game’s obviously very, very important,” Day told ESPN. “When you look at those games, and you see these single plays that really cost us the game. When you’re talking about on defense, giving up explosive plays, certainly that’s very, very important. That’s how games can go sideways.”
Day’s next shot at Michigan: Nov. 25 in Ann Arbor.
–Field Level Media