Ryan Day admits he had an inkling that Ohio State might have communications issues at Michigan

Ohio State lost in-helmet communication with its players on the field in the second half of its 27-9 win over Michigan this past weekend. On Tuesday, Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day revealed his team had prepared for this scenario.

“We lost communication there in the second half,” Day said. “But, the good news was that earlier that week, I thought there may be an inkling that that may happen. So, we had a plan for it. We had a wristband plan.

“Then, we would bring Julian [Sayin] over, and I was just getting us through it until we got the headsets back up and running, which took a little while to get done. But, yeah, just by chance we had a plan for it, and so we were ready to go when it happened.”

Naturally, a reporter quickly followed up on Day’s comments, asking him why he had an “inkling” there may be communication issues in the Big House. Day couldn’t hide his smile.

“We’re just ready for everything,” Day said. “You just got to be ready for anything. When you go into any big game, you’re always trying to put contingency plans in place for anything that could possibly happen.

“That was in here on Friday, and I think some of the guys in the staff were looking at me sideways, like, ‘Why would you think that would happen?’ I said, ‘I don’t know. We just got to be ready and be ready for anything.’ It’s funny how your mind works.”

Day finished the tongue-in-cheek statement with a wink. Ohio State certainly didn’t allow the technical malfunction to slow down its offense.

The Buckeyes tallied 419 total yards of offense against the Wolverines. OSU’s offensive attack was well-balanced. The team racked up 233 passing yards, while notching 186 yards in the ground game.

OSU quarterback Julian Sayin completed 19-of-his-26 pass attempts for 233 yards and three touchdowns, while only throwing one interception. Meanwhile, Buckeyes running back Bo Jackson tallied 117 rushing yards on 22 carries.

The victory was Ohio State’s first against Michigan since 2019. The teams’ feud has only grown in recent years. The rivalry grew particularly heated after an investigation in 2023 revealed Michigan had cheated by stealing opposing team’s signals.

The Buckeyes finally got their revenge Saturday. The win not only cemented Ohio State’s flawless regular-season record, but it eliminated Michigan from College Football Playoff contention.

On Saturday, Ryan Day and Ohio State will face off against Indiana at 8 p.m. ET in the Big Ten Championship. The game will air live on FOX.