“The Game” means everything to Ohio State and Michigan, and the Buckeyes’ head coach is providing motivation for his team – but also potential bulletin-board material for their Big Ten nemesis.
“Like I say, fun is kicking ass, and that’s what we want to do on Saturday,” Day said on Tuesday about Ohio State’s Week 14 road matchup against Michigan. “We’re preparing to do that. There’s nothing funny about this at all, but the fun part is winning. The preparation, that’s what you love. You love the competitive part of this and everything that comes with it.
“Our guys came in Sunday, came in here yesterday and got work on their own. Even guys in the building today, they got a good bounce in their step, and they look forward to this week.”
The No. 1-ranked Buckeyes are 11-0 overall and 8-0 in Big Ten play this season, while the No. 15-ranked Wolverines are 9-2 overall and 7-1 in Big Ten play.
The defending national-champion Buckeyes are a combined 81-10 under Day since he became their full-time head coach in 2019, winning 11-plus games in every season excluding the shortened 2020 campaign. With that said, Day and the Buckeyes have drawn scrutiny from the Ohio State community of late because of them losing each of their last four matchups to the Wolverines; last season’s loss was a 13-10 defeat at home against a then-6-5 Michigan team.
Earlier this week, Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore referred to the historic Big Ten rivalry as the “best rivalry in sports.”
Catch the 2025 edition of Ohio State-Michigan this coming Saturday (12 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app). “Big Noon Kickoff” will be live from Ann Arbor at 9 a.m. ET.
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