Wolverine Digest

Ryan Day couldn't escape Michigan at Big Ten Media Days

Chris Breiler

Nov 25, 2023; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day leads his team in warm-ups prior to the NCAA football game against the Michigan Wolverines at Michigan Stadium.
Nov 25, 2023; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day leads his team in warm-ups prior to the NCAA football game against the Michigan Wolverines at Michigan Stadium. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA
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Ohio State enters the 2024 season as one of the early favorites to capture both the Big Ten Championship and the National Championship. The Buckeyes have loaded up on talent through the transfer portal during the off-season, hauling in a pair of quarterbacks in Julian Sayin and Will Howard, along with Caleb Downs (DB) and Quinshon Judkins (RB). Ohio State also secured the commitment of the No. 1 overall rated player in the 2024 class, Jeremiah Smith. The 6-3, 214 pound wideout is expected to become an immediate factor this fall as a true freshman.

Along with the newcomers, the Buckeyes are returning a ton of veteran talent as well. Offensively, running back TreVeyon Henderson returns for his senior season after rushing for 926 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2023. He's joined by veteran wideout Emeka Egbuka, who hopes to help fill the void left behind by Marvin Harrison Jr. Defensively, the Buckeyes return nine starters from last season - including guys like Jack Sawyer (DE), Tyleik Williams (DT), and Denzel Burke (DB).

Given how strong Ohio State's roster looks on paper, it's no surprise that the Buckeyes are getting so much preseason love from college football analysts across the country. But along with the hype comes high expectations, primarily as it relates to the Michigan Wolverines. For head coach Ryan Day, the 2024 season will largely be defined by what happens on Nov. 30 when the Wolverines clash with the Buckeyes in Columbus. Although the expanded playoff helps soften the consequences for a loss on either side, the harsh reality for Day is that a fourth consecutive loss to Michigan could prove catastrophic to his coaching future at Ohio State.

Speaking with the media at Big Ten Media Days, Day faced no shortage of questions about his ongoing issue with Michigan - highlighting the sense of urgency to turn things around.

“After every year, you have to identify what are the things that have held you back from reaching your goals, knowing that we want perfection and we want to win The Game at the end of the season,” Day said. “In particular, last year, what was it that prevented us from finishing off that last drive or getting off of the field on defense? Why didn’t we do that? Well, it’s easy to say that it comes down to a play or two, but that’s not really the case. What we need to do is leave no doubt. No doubt. Don’t leave it to one play, don’t leave it to one call, don’t leave it to one stop. Leave no doubt when you’re on the field.

“And we’re not going to get into all of the reasons or all of the things that we’ve done to try to address that, to get that fixed. But we have, we’ve worked hard on that, and we feel good about where we’re at going into the season.”

Given how much time he spent talking about the Wolverines during his time in Indy, it's clear that the issue with Michigan continues to be a dark cloud over an otherwise impressive coaching career for Day. If he can fix it in November, there's a pretty good chance that all will be forgiven among the Buckeye faithful. If he can't fix it in November, there's a pretty good chance that the Buckeye faithful will be calling for his replacement.

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

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Chris Breiler
CHRIS BREILER

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