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There aren’t many college football rivalries that boast the level of animosity Michigan and Ohio State have for each other. Buckeyes coach Ryan Day is very familiar with what’s at stake when the two teams face off, and he apparently takes a loss very hard when you consider he compared that feeling to the emotional fallout of his father’s death.
The Michigan Wolverines have a legendary rivalry with the Ohio State Buckeyes that stretches all the way back to 1897, and the fact that the annual showdown is simply referred to as “The Game” really tells you everything you need to know about its reputation in the college football world.
Michigan boasts a 61-51-6 record in the series ahead of the 120th meeting between the two sides, and while the series was historically lopsided heading into the new millennium, Ohio State has put a major dent in the deficit by posting a 16-6 record since it kicked off (it would actually have 17 wins during that span if you include the vacated victory in 2010).
Ryan Day has done a pretty good job since taking the helm at Ohio State, but his track record in “The Game” is understandably a major sticking point among the team’s fanbase.
He was able to get a win during his inaugural season in 2019, but Michigan snapped its eight-game skid the following year and heads into Saturday’s showdown with a three-game winning streak in the rivalry.
All signs point to Day improving his record in The Game to 2-4 when you consider his 10-1 Buckeyes team is listed as a 21-point favorite over a Michigan squad that’s gone 6-5 during Sherrone Moore’s first season in Ann Arbor, and the skipper is especially motivated to get the win based on the feelings he said a loss conjures during a recent interview with WBNS.
Day deployed a somewhat surprising analogy while discussing the toll a loss to Michigan takes on him, saying:
“We’ve felt what it’s like to not win this game and it’s bad. It’s one of the worst things that’s happened to me in my life. quite honestly.
Other than losing my father and a few other things, it’s quite honestly for my family the worst thing that’s happened. So we can never have never have that happen again. Ever.”
How can you not love college football?