Ryan Day admits beating Michigan is ‘No. 1 goal in our program’

Ohio State beat Michigan for the first time since 2019 on Saturday, getting the proverbial monkey off its back. The Buckeyes’ four-game losing streak against the Wolverines was a big topic of discussion entering the game and can now be put to bed.

OSU coach Ryan Day didn’t understate the importance of the win in his postgame press conference following the 27-9 triumph. In fact, the coach singled it out as the team’s most important goal.

“(The players) have phones and they read things and hear things, so they know how important this is,” he said. “This is the No. 1 goal of our program. So to get this checked, now it gives us the opportunity to get No. 2. That’s in Indianapolis next week and they were already fired up about that in the locker room.”

The Buckeyes’ win didn’t come without adversity, as they trailed 6-3 at the end of the first quarter. But the defense locked in over the remaining three quarters, and quarterback Julian Sayin found his rhythm in the victory.

Sayin finished the game 19-of-26 passing for 233 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. Ohio State ended the year undefeated and will face Indiana for the Big Ten Championship next week.

For Day, it marked only his second win against the Wolverines and helped curb some criticism he had been receiving from Michigan fans as a result. But as much personal investment as he had, he was more proud for his players who had been fighting to get their first win in the rivalry.

“It’ll be a great memory of mine just being in there with those guys and enjoying the win and seeing them smile and knowing what they just did on the field,” he said. “I’ll leave what we said in the locker room until Bill writes another book and tells the story on this one. But just happy for our guys just to see the smiles on their faces and see the sense of accomplishment.

“The fact that we were gonna play in this game really, really hard for the love of our brother, not for the hatred of our opponent. That wasn’t what it was about that that’s what they did on the field today.”

After the win against Michigan, Ohio State has its sights set on the Big Ten Championship after falling short of that goal a season ago. The Buckeyes take on Indiana at 8 p.m. ET next Saturday.