Kirk Herbstreit explains how Urban Meyer success put additional heat on Ryan Day for losses vs. Michigan

Former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer absolutely dominated Michigan during his seven seasons as the head coach of the Buckeyes. Meyer finished 7-0 against the Wolverines, becoming an Ohio State coaching legend in the process.

When Urban Meyer retired due to health reasons and was replaced by Ryan Day ahead of the 2019 season, Buckeyes fans expected Day to continue that domination. Those expectations put heat on Ryan Day, according to Kirk Herbstreit.

Get your team’s official College Football Playoff watch from AXIA by CLICKING HERE: “Watches that tell so much more than time”  

“Urban Meyer was 7-0. And then Ryan Day came in right after Urban Meyer went 7-0 and he’s had some difficulties here the last, what was going into this year, the last three years,” Kirk Herbstreit said recently on The McShay Show with Todd McShay. “So many devastating losses.”

The 2024 season was expected to be the time for Ohio State to get back on track against the Wolverines. The Buckeyes returned a loaded roster and brought in some key pieces from the transfer portal this offseason.

Meanwhile Michigan had to replace several staff members, including head coach Jim Harbaugh, as well as several talented players who left for the NFL. The Wolverines were also banged up going into the game, making an Ohio State win seem like even more of a certainty. Of course, that’s not how it played out.

“They put it all in on this year, you know, they get them at home, Michigan was kind of rebuilding after their national championship year. Obviously they didn’t have a great year offensively,” Herbstreit said. “And everyone just knew, Ohio State fans thought it was a given, ‘who cares about the rivalry? Ohio State, they’re too good. They’re going to win.’ And then they lose that one. And then we see what happened at the end, the flag situation, the fight. It was a mess.”

Ohio State fans were already upset with Ryan Day based off of the previous three losses to Michigan. This year’s loss to the Wolverines took that frustration to another level and had some fans not even excited for the College Football Playoff, per Herbstreit.

“And a lot of the narrative on the back-end of that, Ohio State media and fans were like, ‘This guy’s lost four in a row. Urban won seven in a row.’ Regardless of how many games he’s won, he can’t win that game,” Herbstreit said.

“And there was a ‘who cares we’re going to the playoff?’ That was hanging around for a good percentage of people.”

The good news for Ryan Day and Ohio State is that he was able to rally his team and get everyone fired up for the CFP. The Buckeyes are now a win away from a national title, despite the four straight losses to Michigan.

Still, there’s no doubt there will be plenty of pressure on Ryan Day and Ohio State when the 2025 matchup with the Wolverines comes around.