WATCH: Jim Harbaugh Asked About His Respect Level For Ryan Day, Ohio State Staff
There's no question that the rivalry between Michigan and Ohio State has always been a heated one, but the heat seems to have gone up considerably over the last four years. From Ryan Day's reported assertion that Ohio State was going to "hang 100" on Michigan back in 2020, to Jim Harbaugh's "born on third base" comment following Michigan's dominant win in 2021, the respect level between the two head coaches is...well...not all that high.
Meeting with the media on Monday, Harbaugh was asked specifically about his respect level for Day and the coaching staff at Ohio State. After a long pause, Harbaugh offered an interesting response.
"It's all about our preparation for Ohio. The days, the minutes, the hours, everything leading up to this game. That's where our focus is. Preparing ourselves and planning, going to practice and then execute. Anything else is irrelevant when you get into this kind of big game."
There's really not much of a need to translate Harbaugh's response here. He was asked a direct question about his respect level for Ryan Day and the staff at Ohio State, and opted to discuss his team's preparation instead.
Given how heated this rivalry game is going to be, coupled with the frosty relationship between Harbaugh and Day, it's a shame that we won't get to see what would be a highly anticipated mid-field handshake when the clock hits 0:00 on Saturday.
No. 3 Michigan and No. 2 Ohio State kick off at noon on FOX. For FOX, the Big Noon Kickoff crew will be on-hand to cover the game, while ESPN's College Gameday crew will also be broadcasting from live from Ann Arbor.
