Ryan Day does not believe he needs a 'sales pitch' to fans after fourth Michigan loss

The Ohio State Buckeyes were upset by the Michigan Wolverines at home to end the 2024 regular season. For head coach Ryan Day, it was a fourth-straight loss in The Game and, arguably, it was the most frustrating of all of those losses.

In the wake of that most recent loss to Michigan, Day shared that he understands and feels the same frustration that fans do but doesn’t think that he needs a sales pitch to them.

“I don’t think I need to have a sales pitch but I can say I feel their frustration,” Ryan Day said. “I don’t know what else to tell you. I don’t know what else to tell you. There’s no way to defend losing four years in a row, but I know this — we’re gonna play really hard in this [Playoff] game. We’re gonna swing as hard as we possibly can. We’ve a great group of guys. This is gonna move on to this next challenge. And we’ve got to go attack it with everything we possibly have. That’s about it.”

Emphasis was consistently put on beating Michigan throughout the offseason and in the lead-up to The Game this season. Given how Michigan had struggled with consistency and Ohio State was on the edge of a Big Ten Championship Game appearance, it seemed like this was the season Ohio State was gonna earn a win. However, the Buckeyes came up short and lost a defensive battle with tensions boiling over into a fight on the field after the game.

“I get the frustration. I know it comes with this job,” Day said. “But also, we’ve won a lot of games around here, too. We’ve lost some key ones, I know, but we’re right there. We’ve got to keep swinging at it. We’ve got to keep cracking it. Sometimes, when you’re really close and you feel frustrated, you just have to push through. That’s what we’re gonna do.”

Outside of the Michigan game, Day has had plenty of success at Ohio State. He has a record of 66-10 and has never finished outside of the AP Top 10. Again, this season, the Buckeyes appear to be on the verge of a College Football Playoff berth. Still, four straight losses to Michigan are now hanging over his head.

Ross Bjork addresses Ryan Day’s job status following loss to Michigan

With another loss to Michigan, rumors have begun about how secure Ryan Day is in his job. However, athletic director Ross Bjork pushed back on that idea.

“Our full focus right now is on the College Football Playoff and making a strong run. We have a ton to play for. We have a great team made up of talented players and great young men. Coach Day does a great job leading our program. He’s our coach,” Bjork said.

“There’s going to be plenty of time to dissect what happened in the rivalry game the last couple years. But right now, we have to keep the main thing the main thing, and that’s focus on the values of the program, focus on why we lead the young men, focus on the mission and the playoff.”