Everything Ohio State HC Ryan Day said about Michigan Football ahead of The Game

Trent Knoop | 2 Hours Ago

Samantha Madar/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Ohio State might be 10-1 and Michigan is 6-5, but head coach Ryan Day has had a Michigan problem the past three years. The Buckeyes have lost three games in a row to their arch-rival but on Saturday, Ohio State will be a major favorite to win The Game.

Here's everything Day said about Michigan leading up to the contest.

On the past three seasons against Michigan

Yeah, I think it's like I said, what's happened in the past has really nothing to do with what's going on right now. And I think the focus has to be on each other and playing so hard for the love of your teammate, not so much what's going on across the field. And that's what we're going to do. We're going to focus on that this week because it's easy to get distracted with everything else. You know, we'll let the fans and everybody else, you know, kind of talk through all those things. Like we're going to focus on each other, playing really hard for each other, focus on getting ready to go play in this game so that we can execute at a high, high level because ultimately that's all that matters.

Why the last three years have been so hard on him as a head coach

Yeah, I would say not to get into too much of it. It's just, this game is a war. And anytime there's a war, there's consequences and casualties. And then there's the plunder and the rewards that come with it. That's what it is. And I just think that that's really what it comes down to. And so, as we all say, and it happened in my press conference, and I'm one job is to win this game. And so, that's the focus right now. And I don't wanna get too much into the past because we're just focused on right now, and we've worked really hard to get to this point. I think I'm excited with the fact that our guys are here now. Because when you go through the offseason and you talk about this game, it's just like, all right, how many times are we gonna talk about this? We gotta get to this game and go play it. We're finally here right now. So that'll be the focus, and then in the offseason, we'll figure out what's what.

On playing against Wink Martindale compared to the past defensive coordinators

Very similar, a little bit more pressure, but he's got his own flavor to it. But, you know, similar to what they've done in the past, same philosophy in terms of the structure of the coverages. But, you know, a little bit more aggressive in terms of pressure.

Running the football against Michigan

Well, that's how you control the game on both sides of the ball. So that's something that has to be done. And you just look historically that that's how you win the game. But that's not the only thing. There's a lot that comes with it. And so, like every game we go into, we'll work hard to do what we think best helps us win the game. But, yeah, the team who runs the ball and the team who stops the run is going to win the game.

Can Ohio State finally establish the run against the Wolverines?

We don’t have a choice. We have to, to win the game. We’ll always do what we think is best, but it comes down to everybody executing at a high level, and physicality. Our running backs gotta get down hill and find those hidden yards. Our offensive line has to get movement up front and handle their front. They have a good front, there’s no question about that. But that’s not gonna change our attack. We gotta do what we’ve done and trust our preparation and go get it. So yeah, the team who runs the ball is going to control the game.

How weather can impact The Game

I just think that when you get to this time of year you're going to deal with weather. We've said that all along. And it will be the same for both teams. But this time of year you're expecting cold weather. You're expecting wind, rain, snow, all of the above. And you've got to have a plan for it. So we'll be ready to go. It'll be the same for both teams.

Message to recruits about The Game against Michigan

Yeah, well, in the recruiting process, you make sure that that's when they commit, that that's the number one goal. Understand that for everybody in a program, that is the number one goal when you come here is to win this game. And that needs to be embraced. And then you go on from there. And we live it every day of the year in our workout, the way that we structure everything. And then just the fact that if you know, you know. If you don't know, you don't know. So lean on the guys around you that have been in the game before, players, coaches, everybody else in the building.

- Enjoy more Michigan Wolverines coverage on Michigan Wolverines On SI -