Ryan Day discusses Ohio State's gauntlet leading up to Michigan rivalry

Ohio State has mounted a miraculous run down the stretch of the season, and Ryan Day has put the Buckeyes in position to compete for a College Football Playoff spot despite the odds not always being in their favor.

In Week 2, after an all-too-close win over Minnesota in the season opener, Day’s Buckeyes lost at home to then-No. 12 Oregon, a loss that looked like a stain on Ohio State’s resume. However, Ohio State went on an incredible run, winning each of its next nine games and putting the Buckeyes firmly in postseason contention.

Among the many difficult teams Ohio State had to beat along the way were No. 20 Penn State, No. 19 Purdue and, most recently, No. 7 Michigan State. After the dominating, 56-7 victory over Michigan State, Day seemed proud of Ohio State’s efforts, which have gotten the Buckeyes this far — but Michigan State is still on deck.

“At the bye week, we talked about a six-week season. And we knew that week in and week out this was going to be hard. I’ve got a lot of respect for the teams we’ve played so far this year,” Day said. “When you look at the way Penn State played us and the way Nebraska played us, Purdue and Michigan State — these are all really good conference teams, so we knew we had to bring it every week. And when you look at college football this year, we understood even more, there was evidence.”

Ohio State has been nearly flawless since its loss to Oregon. But Day understands that the Buckeyes’ work is far from finished; they still have the biggest game of the year coming up during rivalry week. And Michigan is not to be taken lightly.

“Everything gets ramped up this week because of what it is, and what’s on the line — all the time, but even more this year,” Day said of the rivalry with Michigan, which was cancelled last year due to the COVID-10 pandemic. “Certainly, the opportunity to go to Indy and everything is on the line. So, we knew it was going to be like this. You have to bring it every week. And it’s the battle of the fittest. You’ve got to be strong, you’ve got to bring it every week, and you can’t ride the roller coaster.”

Ryan Day: ‘Everything is riding’ on Ohio State’s trip to Michigan

Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes, now ranked No. 5 in the AP Poll and No. 4 in the College Football Playoff rankings, continue to control their own fate after a dominating display Saturday.

The Buckeyes played host to the No. 7 Michigan State Spartans in what was believed to be a battle of the Big Ten’s best; what transpired, though, was anything but a battle. Ohio State cruised to a blowout victory, defeating the Spartans 56-7 behind CJ Stroud’s 32-of-35, 432-yard, six touchdown performance. Ohio State had three receivers — Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson and Jaxon Smith-Njigba — with 100-plus yards, as Olave had 140 and two touchdowns on seven receptions, Wilson had 126 and two touchdowns on seven receptions and Smith-Njigba had 105 and a touchdown on ten receptions. The game, frankly, was never close, and was over before even the first quarter came to a close.

With that, the Buckeyes can clinch their postseason berth, provided that they win their regular-season finale and, presumably, the Big Ten Championship. However, Day understands how difficult that task might be, especially since it means beating No. 6 Michigan on the road next weekend.

“I feel like there’s so much more here,” Day said, when asked if he was able to stop and take in Saturday’s victory. “We’re right in the middle of it right now, and to take a step back and start to do all that stuff, you’re going to start to lose focus of what’s going on right now. We’ve got a huge game, we’ve got everything riding on this one coming up around the corner [at Michigan]. I gotta tell you, the game wasn’t over yet and I was already thinking about it. There’s just so much going on here.”

The rivalry, in recent years, hasn’t been close. Jim Harbaugh has yet to beat Ohio State since taking over at Michigan in 2015. In fact, Ohio State’s winning streak extends even further; the Buckeyes have not lost to the Wolverines since 2011, when Michigan won 40-34, and Ohio State has won 17 of the last 20. Day hopes to extend that streak next weekend, but the stakes are even higher this season than in years past.

“We knew this run was going to be real. Very proud of the way our team played today, but all the focus goes to the Wolverines.”

Ohio State has mounted a miraculous run down the stretch of the season, putting the team in position to compete for a College Football Playoff spot. In Week 2, after an all-too-close win over Minnesota in the season opener, Day’s Buckeyes lost at home to then-No. 12 Oregon, a loss that looked like a stain on Ohio State’s resume. However, Ohio State went on the run that Day mentioned, winning all of its next nine games and putting the Buckeyes firmly in postseason contention.

In order to get there, though, Ohio State will have to get past Michigan.