Ohio State Should Have Beat Michigan Last Year, Ryan Day Says

Ryan Day has a 1-3 record against Michigan over the past four years, which doesn’t bode well for any Ohio State coach. This season, the pressure is on him to get revenge in The Game.

However, Day still believes the Buckeyes should have beaten the Wolverines last season.

“They were a very good team, but we should have won the game anyway,” Day said via SiriusXM. “We didn’t. So why? What do we have to do?

“It starts with making sure the right people are in the right places, the personnel is right, the scheme is right, and then it just goes from there. But yeah, those are decisions you’re trying to make in the offseason. When the season ends, you’re also building your identity.”

Day added: “You want to get to the point where you’re playing the best football you can.”

Ohio State “should have won this game” but didn’t, falling to Michigan in a close 30-24 decision that cost the Buckeyes a spot in the Big Ten championship game and the College Football Playoff.

And Michigan won its third consecutive Big Ten title and, ultimately, the national championship.

Aside from the series against the “team up north,” Day has a perfect 56-8 record with the Buckeyes, including a 39-3 mark against Big Ten opponents.

But all three of those losses came against Michigan, and the losing record in those games has been a major drag on Day’s Ohio State career, despite all his other victories.

Day has become aggressive in the offseason, both in terms of transfers and on his own sideline.

Ohio State has hired former Oregon and UCLA coach Chip Kelly as offensive coordinator in a move that has been hailed as one of the most significant in the recent coaching carousel.

And the Buckeyes have landed some valuable new recruits through the trade portal, including two former five-star Alabama players: defensive end Caleb Downs and 2025 quarterback prospect Julian Sayin.

Quinshon Judkins, a former SEC rushing yards champion, joined the Buckeyes after leaving Ole Miss, where he rushed for 2,725 yards and 31 touchdowns in two seasons.

Will Howard steps in as the presumptive starting quarterback after the Buckeyes lost Kyle McCord to Syracuse. The former Kansas State starter is coming off a career-best performance, completing 61.3 percent of his throws for 2,643 yards with 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

Those additions, along with returns to form at quarterback, defensive end and wide receiver, have propelled Ohio State into second place in the current national title race.

Now Day needs to put it all together so that this time next year he’s not saying Ohio State should have beaten Michigan, but that it actually happened.

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