Ryan Day admits last year's 'The Game' has impacted Ohio State's identity: 'We have scars'

Ryan Day and Ohio State have waited a whole year to get their revenge, and now the opportunity is just a few days away. After losing to Michigan for the first time in nine years last season, the Buckeyes are eager to get back on the winning side of “The Game” when they host the Wolverines on Saturday.

Like last season, this year’s version of the rivalry has College Football Playoff implications, as the winner will claim the Big Ten East title and play for a conference championship. In a Tuesday press conference, Day spoke about how Ohio State is using the hurt of last year’s loss to motivate itself toward a different result this season.

“I think you’re shaped by whatever’s happened in your past,” he said. “We have scars. It motivated us all offseason and we’ve worked very hard to get to this moment right here. Now it’s time to go prepare the best we can and that’s what we’re gonna focus on. Physically, mentally and emotionally just go play the hardest game we’ve played. We’ll find out where we’re at on Saturday.”

CLICK HERE to subscribe for FREE to the On3 YouTube channel

Like last year, Ohio State enters this game as one of the nation’s top offenses, and is tied for No. 1 in the country with 46.5 points per game. A lot of that has to do with quarterback CJ Stroud, who so far this season has thrown for 2,991 yards, 35 touchdowns and just four interceptions.

Stroud will run into one of the toughest defenses he has seen all season, however, as Michigan is second in scoring defense (11.7 points allowed per game) and fifth against the pass (161.7 yards allowed per game). Last season against the Wolverines, Stroud passed for 394 yards and two touchdowns, but didn’t get much help from his running attack that averaged just 2.1 yards per carry.

The Buckeyes ground game will hope for a better outing this time around, and enters the game averaging 203.5 rushing yards per game.

“I think when you focus on this year and the things that have been done, you’ve seen a lot of good play,” Day said. “You’ve seen them really work toward this moment right here. When you lose this game, it’s a tough year. There’s no hiding from that. There’s only one way to handle it. That’s to go back to work and address the issues you think need to be addressed so when you go back to play the game, you’re ready to roll.

“We’ve got a few more days here to get ready and prepare, but up until this moment we’ve done everything we can to get to this moment right here and be ready to go. So when you get to play on Saturday, you play with a lot of confidence because you’ve been working toward this moment for so long. Then you go play as hard as you possibly can.”

Michigan leads the rivalry with an all-time record of 59-51-6, but Ryan Day will hope to add another victory to the Ohio State side this year. Kickoff between the Buckeyes and Wolverines is set for noon ET on Saturday in Columbus.