It was cold. And snowy. And players had the flu. And what took place in the dark was set to come to light. And it was just a few plays. And the quarterback was the issue. And it was a few more plays. Yada, yada, yada.
Whether it’s from Ohio State fans or head coach Ryan Day himself, there hasn’t been an excuse that the Buckeye contingent hasn’t liked when it’s come to losing to Michigan football.
Yes, the rivalry had been lopsided from 2001 to 2019, but such has been the nature of The Game. Michigan won a ton in the early years of college football, then OSU figured things out and dominated from the 1952-1968. Then the 10-year war happened. In fact, once Bo Schembechler took over the Wolverines, up until Jim Tressel took over the Buckeyes in 2001, Michigan beat Ohio State, 19-11-2. So, one could say the rivalry is cyclical.
But something funny happened on the way to this decade we currently find ourselves in. What was started to be seen as a birthright south of Monroe Country quickly shifted into Michigan’s favor, as the maize and blue have won three in a row.
When Ryan Day took over the machine from Urban Meyer in 2019, he only knew winning in the rivalry. As the offensive coordinator in 2018, he oversaw the biggest rout in The Game in modern history. In his first year as head coach, it looked quite similar. Behind closed doors, Day proclaimed that the Buckeyes would ‘hang 100’ on Michigan — which may have happened if they had played given how depleted the Wolverines were due to COVID (Michigan canceled the Maryland game the week before, though self-proclaimed ‘Buckeye Nation’ like to don their tinfoil hats when discussing the circumstances that surrounded the cancellation).
To some degree, it had appeared that Day had found some contrition after the string of beatings the past three years. “Well,…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/opinion-ryan-day-delusional-recent-033438644.html
Author : Wolverines Wire
Publish date : 2024-07-27 03:34:38
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