ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Ryan Day left the field beaming, pumping his fists and urging the remaining Ohio State fans to roar before throwing up the familiar “O-H” signal. The win erased the irritation of four straight losses to Michigan and brought relief to a coach who had taken that stretch to heart.
On a snowy Saturday at the Big House, No. 1 Ohio State beat Michigan 27-9 to reach the Big Ten championship game for the first time since 2020. The Buckeyes will head to Indianapolis next weekend to face No. 2 Indiana with the top overall College Football Playoff seed on the line.
“There’s no question that the fans and all of our supporters, what this means — means a lot to us,” Day said, acknowledging how much the recent losses to Michigan had weighed on him personally and on the program. “You just feel like you’re letting everybody down — that’s just not a good feeling. So you work like hell just to make sure that you do everything you can to get your guys prepared. … And our guys really captured the moment and played great.”
Ohio State fell behind 6-0 early but then took control. Sophomore quarterback Julian Sayin overcame an interception on his second pass to finish with 233 yards and three touchdowns. Receivers Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate — both listed as questionable and each battling lower-body issues (Tate had missed three games, Smith the previous weekend) — delivered touchdown catches Day called “gutsy” returns.
The Buckeyes dominated the line of scrimmage. Freshman Bo Jackson led the ground attack with 117 rushing yards as Ohio State outgained Michigan on the ground 186-100, extending to 24 years the streak in which the winner of this rivalry also wins the rushing battle. After yielding a 37-yard run by Michigan’s Jordan Marshall on the game’s opening play, OSU’s defense clamped down, allowing just 127 total yards the rest of the way. Michigan’s nine points were its fewest against Ohio State in 15 years.
Linebacker Sonny Styles, who paced Ohio State with six tackles, praised Day after the game: “Coach Day is an amazing leader. He’s an amazing coach… I think he proved the point today. … I’m so happy for him.”
The victory also carried a heavy personal element for Day. After last year’s 13-10 loss at Ohio State — a game that was followed by hostile chants, threats and the placement of armed guards at his home — Day and the program rebounded, ultimately winning four playoff games and the national title. This season the Buckeyes have strung together 11 consecutive wins by 15 or more points, the longest such run in program history, per ESPN Research.
As the crowd thinned, Buckeye fans took over the Big House late, trading “O-H” and “I-O” calls across the field. Unlike last season, Ohio State players did not plant a flag on the visiting sideline; several made snow angels on the turf before joining the band to celebrate in the end zone.
Day reflected on what the win means for players, coaches and supporters and emphasized humility in victory. He said losses to Michigan were among the worst days of his life and that he had pictured what he might say after finally beating them back, but chose restraint: “I’m going to save all those comments because I think the best thing to do is win with humility.” He praised his team’s passion and physicality and called the postgame celebration in the visiting locker room “a great memory.”
Now 82-10 as Ohio State’s head coach, Day sits with the second-best winning percentage in college football history behind Walter Camp, according to ESPN Research. More important to him, he said, was restoring pride for Buckeye fans: “The fans even who weren’t here, they’ll be able to wear that Block O and stand a little prouder. And so that means a lot to me, means a lot to the coaching staff, to the players and my family.”
