What will they say now? Ryan Day took back his reputation as Ohio State beat up on Michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The final 20 seconds ticked off the Big House clock as Ohio State and Michigan walked toward midfield to shake hands. Michigan’s players walked faster. 

Ohio State’s 27-9 victory was sealed, but the quick-moving Wolverines weren’t eager to shake their rivals’ hands. No, they hurried to midfield to guard the Block M, staving off any attempt from Ohio State to plant flags on the logo, which the Wolverines did in Ohio Stadium last year.

That didn’t stop Ohio State from attempting it. In a video captured by 10TV’s Adam King, Buckeyes cornerback Davison Igbinosun had a flag in his hand as he made his way toward midfield. Other players had them, too. But in the middle of what surely would have been another postgame brawl, Ryan Day patrolled with his arms spread, stopping players from recreating a chaotic scene from a year ago that included fighting and pepper spray.

A weaker man may have allowed it to happen. He may have wanted to gloat, to rub Michigan’s face in it a little bit after the Wolverines had terrorized him for the past four seasons. But there was no petty in Day, not during the game or after it. There was no attempt to run up the score. No trick plays. No theatrics. No postgame comments designed to dig at Michigan coach Sherrone Moore.

Just relief.

Maybe too much has changed since Ohio State’s shocking loss to Michigan in Columbus a year ago. After that game, it felt like it was no longer tenable for Day to be Ohio State’s head coach, that he had an incurable Michigan problem that had to be dealt with. Day had to have a security guard at his house. Buckeyes fans were fed up. Many — most? — were ready for a change.

Day hasn’t lost a game since. If you’re not counting, that is 16 wins in a row, the first four of which came in the College Football Playoff last year on the way to the national title. Seven of those 16 wins came over ranked opponents during that span.

The only thing people had left to criticize Day over was his apparent inability to beat Michigan. Then Ohio State went into the Big House on Saturday and ended every single negative narrative you could have made about Day and his Buckeyes.

In the postgame news conference, I asked Day to reflect on the growth he had seen not only in himself, but also in his program in the last 365 days. Last November, Day had to have been in a personal hell, which I reluctantly reminded him of during a postgame attempt to illustrate how much has changed.

I began the question with this phrase: “Sorry to bring you back to less happy times … “

“It’s OK, Ari,” Day said. “You can’t ruin today for me brother.”

The room laughed and he smiled. Everyone knew the question wasn’t in an attempt to cast a shadow over one of his most important victories of his Ohio State tenure. It was to highlight what has been one of the starkest transformations of a coach’s reputation in such a short amount of time.

What bad can be said about Day now?

What’s the knock on him?

What’s the case for Ohio State not being the best program in college football?

“I don’t get too caught up in that,” Day said. “What matters to me is my family, these guys right here. I care what these guys think. There’s no question the fans and all of our supporters, what this means means a lot to us. That’s what hurt the last couple of years, more than anything. You could see it on my face the last couple of years. You feel like you’re letting everyone down and that’s just not a good feeling.

“So you work like hell to make sure you do everything you can to get your guys prepared. That’s all you can do. That’s exactly what happened here. It was built up all year and our guys really captured the moment and played great.”

Think about all the ways Ohio State lost this game the past few years and what happened Saturday:

1. Inability to run the ball: The Buckeyes out-rushed the Wolverines 186-100. Running back Bo Jackson carried the ball 22 times for 117 yards, showing off a nifty little cutback move on multiple occasions.

2. Inability to stop Michigan’s run: The first offensive play for Michigan was a 36-yard run from running back Jordan Marshall. He finished the game with 61 yards. Michigan was again limited in the passing attack, but didn’t control the game with bully ball. The Wolverines rushed for zero yards — yes, zero — in the second half.

3. Inability to get the ball to its playmakers: Both star receivers, Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate, had touchdown receptions of 35 yards or longer. It didn’t matter both were banged up coming into the game.

4. Failing to be tougher: How many plays during the four-game losing streak did Michigan suck the life out of Ohio State physically? On Saturday, Ohio State went on a 20-play, 81-yard drive where it ran the ball down the Wolverines’ throat. The drive culminated in a field goal that turned it into a three-possession game, effectively ending the contest.

Ohio State exorcised all of its demons in Ann Arbor. It wasn’t just winning. It was how it won. And now the Buckeyes, 12-0 in the regular season, will face Indiana next weekend in Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship Game. For the first time since 2020, Ohio State has a chance to win its conference. A trip to the College Football Playoff with an opportunity to defend its title is already locked up.

But when it comes to Day?

Again, what’s left to be said?

Ohio State recruits the best. It develops the best. It deploys NIL dollars the best. It wins the most. Is this the best program in college football during the NIL era? Is Day the best coach?

It’s no longer hyperbolic to answer that in the affirmative because Day doesn’t have a Michigan problem anymore. Frankly, he doesn’t have any problem as his team heads to the postseason looking unbeatable.

When Day was done with his news conference, smiling from cheek to cheek, he slipped out of the back of the room, finished up a few questions with some reporters. He then went into the locker room through a thick metal door, Drake’s “Uptown” blaring through.

Now I run the game you stupid motha-suckas

I see all this money through my Ohio State Buckeyes.

“It will 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,” Day said. “Just happy for our guys 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’s what they did on the field today. It was all the hard work.”

No pettiness from Ryan Day.

Just a man who took back his entire reputation.

Just the best program in college football.