Does Big Ten Rival's Decline Give Spartans a Chance in Recruiting?
The unranked Michigan Wolverines, with five losses, upset the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes in the 'Shoe, 13-10. Fair and square. Perhaps it was the biggest upset in college football this season, all things considered. It marked a stellar coaching performance from Sherrone Moore.
It might have saved his job.
The loss might have cost Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day his. In doing so, it could help the Michigan State Spartans, big time. Especially on the recruiting side of things.
Program stability means everything, and right now, the very foundation of the Buckeyes is shaken.
Stephen Means of Cleveland.com declared after the Buckeyes' embarrassing upset loss that Michigan had "officially broken" the Buckeyes.
"Maybe that’s hyperbolic and premature given the Buckeyes are still a lock to make the College Football Playoff," Means wrote. "But now they might need to win the whole thing to keep it from becoming a real possibility. A road that’s made that much harder because the journey now probably starts on the road in a hostile environment. The only person Day and OSU have to blame is themselves.
"They let that trauma stick around longer than it should’ve. Because instead of fixing their problems, then getting back on the field with their rival and blowing them off the field, they decided to try to prove a point. And they’ve failed miserably at proving it. Ohio State was more concerned with proving it could be tough. Proving it could run the ball whenever it wanted. Proving it could out-Michigan, Michigan. Instead, it should’ve been worrying about itself and doing what it’s always been good at. The thing Day got hired for in the first place."
Day is 1-4 against Michigan, a poor track record that has gotten previous Buckeyes coaches tossed from Colombus. The fact that this Buckeyes team was the best money could buy and lost to a vastly inferior Wolverines squad without its two best players and a walk-on at quarterback, in the friendly confines (incredibly hostile for opponents) of Ohio Stadium -- unacceptable.
Day's exit could mean the state of Ohio (and Midwest as a whole) going up for grabs, at least for the 2026 and possibly the 2027 classes.
Head coach Jonathan Smith is recruiting Ohio heavily in 2026, and a program crumbling could make a program on the rise like the Spartans look a lot more lucrative.
Michael France is Sports Illustrated's Michigan State recruiting beat writer, covering all things Big Ten recruiting for Spartan Nation. Be sure to follow him on Twitter/X@michaelfrancesi for exclusive Spartans recruiting coverage.
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