Booger McFarland slams Ryan Day for response to postgame brawl, multiple losses to Michigan

There’s a simple question circling the Ohio State football program under coach Ryan Day: Why can’t you beat Michigan?

The Buckeyes have fallen to the Wolverines in the last four meetings, ruining otherwise excellent campaigns that could have turned into potential national championship runs. And while that’s not the case this year in the expanded 12-team playoff, Saturday’s 13-10 loss did cost Ohio State a shot at a Big Ten title.

So again, that simple question… why does this keep happening?

“Well because his team is not prepared. There was a show on our network there called ‘Numbers Never Lie,’ but they do,” ESPN analyst Booger McFarland said. “Ryan Day is 66-10 as the head coach, but he’s 0-4 against Michigan. Every game they’ve been outphysicaled at the line of scrimmage, and every game there’s been mistakes, and every game the quarterback play hasn’t been what it needs to be.”

Saturday’s loss was particularly painful for Ohio State. Self-inflicted mistakes, like a pair of Will Howard interceptions and poor clock management, led to yet another dropped contest against Michigan.

And it’s not like last year, where Michigan was also competing for a national title. This year’s Michigan team was just 6-5 entering Saturday.

Ohio State, on the flip side, spent all offseason building a potential juggernaut.

“They went out and they got the best roster money can buy, and Ryan Day let his team down again,” McFarland said. “Michigan was the more physical team again. And then for Ryan Day, at a critical moment to call a second timeout after Ohio State had already called one timeout, two timeouts consecutively, you cannot do that. He did that as a coach. So when you put all that together, he’s been getting outperformed on the sidelines.”

Is that enough to put Ryan Day on the hot seat? It’s a valid question at this point.

Which sounds insane on the surface for a coach who’s 66-10. But it’s reality.

“I think if you’re an Ohio State fan, you have to ask yourself the question, ‘Is Ryan Day the guy for this job?'” McFarland said. “He can beat everybody else, but he hasn’t been able to beat Michigan.”