The Ohio State Buckeyes appear to be hitting their stride at the right time, and coach Ryan Day wants his biggest rival to know it.
The Buckeyes throttled the Michigan State Spartans 56-7 on Saturday, turning a clash of top-ten teams into an uncompetitive blowout. Ohio State jumped out to a 49-0 lead before halftime, and quarterback C.J. Stroud asserted his Heisman Trophy credentials by throwing for 432 yards and six touchdowns.
After the game, Day did something unusual. He brought up next week’s opponent, the Michigan Wolverines, more than once, and sent a clear message to his players. The message he sent was to Jim Harbaugh and Harbaugh’s Wolverines team.
Ryan Day hasn't yet been asked about the Michigan game and yet he has twice mentioned it unprompted.
"Our focus is on the team up north right now."
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) November 20, 2021
Day even added that he had started thinking about the Michigan game even before officially finishing off Michigan State.
This year’s Ohio State-Michigan game will decide the Big Ten East and send the winner to the conference championship game. Beyond that, Day has made the Michigan rivalry a huge priority, much like his predecessor Urban Meyer did. That explains the intensity of his focus on Michigan. It also provides some context as to why the Buckeyes have won 17 of the last 19 meetings between the two schools.
