After finally ending skid against Michigan, Ohio State fully rediscovers itself

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Ryan Day didn’t have to think too hard to finally end the four-game streak that had consumed him. He just needed to be himself.

Pressure tends to bring out the best or the worst in coaches. For Ohio State, a dangerous mix of those two elements resulted in a strange identity crisis: a four-game losing streak in “The Game” but a 52-1 record against every other team in the Big Ten.

On Saturday, Day ditched the overcorrections and returned to what works. Michigan didn’t have a counter.

“I think there was no doubt when we walked into the stadium what was going to happen,” Day said after the 27-9 victory.

A year after Ohio State tried to reinvent itself as an opponent and prove its point against Michigan by abandoning a high-flying offense to play bully ball, the coach kept it simple: Just be a Buckeye.

Julian Sayin launched howitzers through the air, dropping laser-guided bombs for two incredible touchdowns by super receivers Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate. Then the Buckeyes went to ground, bulldozing Michigan and marching through the snow with just one possession to prove a point: These Buckeyes aren’t just better, they’re bigger and stronger than the Wolverines.

A 20-play, 11-minute, 56-second second-half drive — by far the longest drive of the season — in the driving snow was more of a statement than any flag-waving at midfield would have been.

“We wanted to finish the game on our terms,” Sayin said.

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And no, Ohio State didn’t plant its flag or trample the “M” block at midfield. Day made sure of that by waving a noisy group of Buckeyes back to the sideline after the game. Day had plenty to say after finally beating his rival for the first time since 2019, but he bit his lip, adding: “The best thing you can do is win with humility.”

Then again, this may just be the start of a new routine and winning streak in sports’ fiercest rivalry.

“When you think about where we were at this point from last year to today, there’s been a lot of good football,” Day said.

Maybe it was that 13-10 loss last year in a scary Ohio stadium that woke Day up. Something has changed. Sixteen consecutive victories. A national title. Maintaining a 12-0 record after losing 14 players to the NFL Draft. This shouldn’t make sense, but it does at Ohio State.

No team is hotter or better because of Ohio State’s unwillingness to move away from a self-determined identity. Eleven consecutive double-digit wins. A defense for a generation. All of that will be contested next week in the Big Ten championship game against undefeated Indiana, a team outscoring its opponents by an average of 33.4 points, the largest margin in the sport since Florida State won the national title in 2013.

For now, Day should live in the moment. He should celebrate. A year ago, fans turned on the coach, booing him out of Ohio State, demanding answers after he lost a fourth straight time to Michigan and missed the Big Ten Championship. The noise outside was so loud that Day’s family hired security to guard their home.

Four years is a lifetime in college football, but a win over a rival can erase a lot of bad memories.

“You can see it in my face the last few years,” Day said. “You feel like you’re letting everyone down. It’s just not a good feeling. You work like hell to make sure you do everything you can to prepare your guys. That’s all you can do. That’s exactly what happened here.”

Ohio State’s offense may deserve praise, but its defense has proven to be one of the best in the last 50 years. No opponent scored 17 points during this 12-game season, a first in the sport since 1975 (Florida).

The offense will grab the headlines, but the defense has been the anchor all season. No opponent has reached 17 points in 12 games – something no FBS team has done since 1975 in Florida. Michigan is far from up to par. Aside from an opening burst and Sayin’s lone mistake, the Wolverines were swallowed whole: 39 total yards in the second half, minus-8 on the ground after racking up 108 before halftime.

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“We knew we were going to stop everything they brought at us,” defensive end Caden Curry said.

Ohio State outscored Michigan 419-163 and took its rival’s will somewhere deep in the snow.

Early in the fourth quarter, as the Buckeyes engaged in their marathon, linebacker Sonny Styles glanced at teammate Payton Pierce and soaked in the moment. The snow, the issues, the rivalry.

“I’m playing ‘The Game’ right now,” Styles said. Both teams are trying to advance to the Big Ten Championship. It’s snowing. We are at the end of November. This is what you dream of.”

Season-long dominance may seem like a dream, but it’s Ohio State. The Buckeyes are fully comfortable in their skin, fully aware of their power.

“We definitely have a lot more to offer and we have so much more to prove,” Curry said. “This team has a great story that needs to be told.”