by Kyle Golik
Through all the changes Ohio State head coach Ryan Day has made over the past two seasons, it hasn’t paid the ultimate dividend that Ohio State faithful seek, defeating Michigan.
Day went through a major rehaul of his staff following the 2021 season that saw defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs, linebackers coach Al Washington, secondary coach Matt Barnes, and offensive line coach Greg Studrawa depart as a major reaction to the physical domination Michigan displayed, snapping the Buckeyes eight-game winning streak.
Day brought in Jim Knowles to change the identity of the Ohio State defense and make it more physical in order to maximize the talent the Buckeyes had. After last season, offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson accepted the head coaching vacancy at the University of Tulsa. Day turned to fast-rising wide receivers coach Brian Hartline and promoted him to offensive coordinator.
Without Jim Harbaugh, who was serving the final game of his three-game suspension in the wake of the Connor Stalions espionage scandal, the Buckeyes should have had the upper hand in game calling. It seemed all the stars aligned for Ohio State to turn the tables back in their favor in this rivalry.
Michigan, galvanized from the Harbaugh suspension and a chip on their shoulder with something to prove, outmaneuvered, executed better, more physical, and weren’t conservative in their 30-24 win in Michigan Stadium for their first consecutive three-game win streak versus Ohio State since 1995 to 1997.
“We know what this game means to so many people, and so to come up short is certainly crushing,” Day said after falling to 1-3 against Michigan. “Not only because you invest your whole year in it, at Ohio State, what this game means, and, so, there’s a locker room in there that’s devastated. It wasn’t a lack of effort, but again, we didn’t win the rushing yards, we didn’t win the turnover battle, so you’re not going to win this game.”
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Despite out-gaining Michigan in total offense (378 to 338), it was Michigan’s ability to play clean football and their ability to dominate the line of scrimmage on the ground (outgained by Michigan 156 to 107) despite losing right guard Zak Zinter to a broken tibia and fibula that ultimately led them to victory.
Day commented, “I don’t know ultimately what the final numbers were, but I feel like when you go into this game, you got to win with rushing yards, and it didn’t happen. They had more than we did, and that’s a big part of controlling the game. Certainly has to do with the last couple of drives. And then also the turnover battle, I’d like to say it’s more than that, but I’m not sure it is.”
One of Day’s major staff adjustments over the past two seasons was bringing in Knowles. He had a rough 2022 game where Michigan gashed Knowles’ defense for 45 points, 530 yards of total offense, including 252 on the ground, averaged 7.2 yards per carry, and surrendered five plays of over 40 yards.
This season, Knowles’ defense seemed to keep everything in front of them and only gave up one play of over 30 yards this year, but Knowles felt while his defense played better, it still wasn’t up to par, “Not enough. Ultimately, you got to win this game. I certainly feel like we were a play short. So, that’s something that I got to keep working on.”
This season’s frontrunner for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year quarterback, CJ Stroud, faced heavy criticism for not being able to beat Ohio State in his two seasons as the starter. Stroud, however, played at a higher level throughout his two seasons than first-year starter Kyle McCord has, and the two costly interceptions McCord threw will haunt him moving forward.
The list of Ohio State head coaches to lose three in a row to Michigan since World War II are:
- Woody Hayes (1976-1978)
- John Cooper (1988-1991 & 1995-1997)
- Ryan Day (2021-2023)
Woody Hayes wasn’t able to avenge his third straight defeat to Michigan due to his actions in the 1978 Gator Bowl, striking Clemson linebacker Charlie Baumann. John Cooper somehow managed to survive two streaks of losing three or more. One was the longest winless streak since World War II, going 0-5-1 between 1988 to 1993.
The difference between Hayes’ and Cooper’s streaks and now Day’s is that Woody Hayes is arguably the greatest coach in Ohio State’s history. Cooper took over for Earle Bruce, who had a rough time with Bo Schembechler. It was Cooper’s comment that Michigan was just another game that did him in. Day came in riding the coattails of the greatest stretch of success Ohio State ever had against Michigan, with Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer winning a combined 17 of 18 contests against Michigan.
Day could only exceed that standard by being perfect, which was impossible.
“We know what this game means to so many people, and so to come up short is certainly crushing,” Day commented about the importance of The Game. “Not only because you invest your whole year in it, at Ohio State, what this game means, and so there’s a locker room in there that’s devastated. It wasn’t a lack of effort, but again, we didn’t win the rushing yards, we didn’t win the turnover battle, so you’re not going to win this game.”
I wrote last week that if Ohio State lost a third consecutive matchup to Michigan, Day would be out in Columbus. It needs to be noted Day is 40-0 in Big Ten play versus teams not named Michigan and now 1-3 against Michigan. I seriously doubt Ohio State is going to fire Ryan Day, especially after the fact they gave John Cooper over a decade to fail against Michigan.
I know a faction of Ohio State fans want Day gone in the worst way, but the difference is Cooper never embraced the rivalry like Day has. It isn’t just another game for Day.
Ohio State, despite having the best wide receivers in the country and despite being improved on defense under Knowles, needs to compete better in the trenches and play more physically. On the defensive line, Ohio State has a pair of five-star edge rushers in J.T. Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer and a great defensive tackle in Tyleik Williams. Outside of Sawyer’s sack, they weren’t dominating or “X-Factors” like previous defensive line players.
The offensive line has seemingly regressed every year since Meyer’s last group and is not at the same level as the two-time Joe Moore Award-winning Michigan offensive line performed at
The new day for Ohio State is when it matches Michigan in physicality in the trenches and can win the battles on the line of scrimmage. When Michigan wide receiver Roman Wilson was asked about Ohio State playing tougher, he said they weren’t and said to many Buckeye defenders, “You’re not tough.” Until then it is Michigan who will dictate the rivalry and not Ohio State.
