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Last year it was 'war'. Now, Ryan Day enters The Game bulletproof
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- Last year it was 'war'. Now, Ryan Day enters The Game bulletproof
You're going to hear about pressure this week. About a coach and a rivalry, and fan base that won't put up with losing much longer.
To this I say, what are you going to do, Ohio State , fire Ryan Day?
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Imagine how miserable and delusional you have to be as a collective fan base to begin Rivalry Week — the most sacred and glorious week in all of college football and the moment when The Game vs. Michigan takes center stage — with the now all too familiar refrain of "he can't afford to lose this game."
Well, lunatic fringe, he can and did. And now Ryan Day is bulletproof.
Free from the mental anguish of one game, and four straight years of losing to You Know Who. From years of whining and complaining from Joe Sixpack, who just can't take it anymore while bellied up to the bar on High Street and complaining about Day's 1-4 record against Michigan.
Yeah, well, boo-freaking-hoo. So Ohio State lost again to Michigan last season, so what?
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The Buckeyes also won the whole damn thing, thank you.
Maybe that's why Day seemed so comfortable during his postgame news conference last weekend, after another laugher of a win in the Big Ten for the top-ranked Buckeyes — and just seven days away from the annual heart attack against Michigan.
"We want to keep it as routine as possible," Day said confidently.
And everywhere in and around Columbus, Ohio State fans puked. There's nothing routine about this game, bub.
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Nothing routine about That School Up North, or about your very existence as a program.
Or maybe there is. Maybe — hear me out, wing nut Bucknuts — The Game is what you make of it.
If you call it "war" like Day did last season , there's an obvious be-all, end-all connotation to your players. One slip on one flank by one player, and the most dangerous run game in college football has all of 77 yards on 26 carries.
If you say there are "consequences and casualties to war" like Day did before last year's game, players are too tight, don't play free and confident, and a fifth-year senior quarterback throws a red zone interception, and another interception inside his own-5.
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If you say there's plunder and reward like Day did last season, the best run defense in college football gets gashed for 172 yards on 42 carries — by a one-dimensional offense that can't functionally throw the ball.
Years ago, when Florida was in the middle of owning the Tennessee rivalry — which had grown to become the most important game in every college football season — Gators coach Steve Spurrier took advantage of the bye week before the game and spent the weekend at Crescent Beach, Fla.
"He believed more than anything that players are a reflection of their coaches," longtime Oklahoma coach and former Florida assistant Bob Stoops said. "He looked at me and said, 'Bobby, you think those Tennessee coaches are at the beach this weekend?' He had the ultimate confidence in our players and our preparation."
Instead of whistling through the graveyard with thoughts of what could be, or previous losses to Michigan.
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Instead of talking about war and consequences and the plunder and rewards that come with it. Instead of having a team so obsessed by winning a game, it becomes their sole focus. Where every play, every mistake, is magnified until the collective team is frozen in fear.
"We know what's at stake," Day said. "We know we're playing for hardware now."
Look, it's a big game. An important game. Hell, I'm OK if it's The Game.
But it's not The Prize.
It's a moment every season where two passionate fan bases get together, and the thought of losing makes you want curl up in the corner in the fetal position. It's a rivalry — it's the rivalry — in a sport whose very soul is fueled by the game you just can't lose.
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Unless you're one of the top five programs in college football. Unless your season is defined by winning the national championship, which Ohio State and Michigan's seasons most certainly are.
You know why The Game is important to Michigan? Because it can reach the Big Ten championship game and the College Football Playoff. Or the exact same reason for Ohio State.
It's not the Ten Year War or Bo and Woody of years past. It's not even Michigan's sell your soul season of 2023.
It's just the game on the road to what's next. Until you win it.
Then there's nothing routine about it.
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Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB .
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Confident Ohio State coach Ryan Day not changing routine for Michigan
