Kirk Herbstreit: Ryan Day has a 'Michigan problem'

Kirk Herbstreit said Ryan Day officially has a Michigan problem. However, he wouldn’t even think about firing the Ohio State head coach.

“I think there’s two things that can be true here,” Herbstreit said on Pardon My Take. “Number one … I wouldn’t even consider even talking about firing Ryan Day, like I wouldn’t. Number two, he definitely has a Michigan problem. 

“So I think both of those things can be true. This game is cyclical, the pressure that the way teams get in the other team’s head. Ohio State lived in Michigan’s head for a number of years with Tressel and Urban Meyer and Jim Harbaugh to his credit at one point, they’re ready to fire him, and now that he’s completely turned this thing around.”

Herbstreit praised Day’s recruiting efforts and getting star players in order to get a star studded roster overall. However, it’s just different when playing Michigan.

“If I were Ryan Day and I were looking at okay, we put everything into this we got to get tougher. I’ve always felt that when Ohio State is tougher, the recruiting that they have done from the end of the Urban Meyer era to now, they recruit nationally. They go to Florida, they go to Georgia, they go to North Carolina, they go to Texas, they go to California.

“If you look at the Ohio State roster, they’re not a ton of Ohio guys. And I would suggest maybe looking at that aspect of the roster. And finding more Ohio guys that qualified to be on the Ohio State roster to make them appreciate what this game really means.”

Ryan Day’s Kryptonite is Michigan at this moment

Herbstreit made the point of Ohio State making the game more personal and having Day get back to that point with the Buckeyes.

“The reality is when we watch the game, it feels like the Michigan team plays as a group where they play like with a chip on their shoulder and they’re mad at the world and they play with something to prove,” Herbstreit said. “And in the last three years that has been more than what Ohio State has brought to the table in that game.”

When asked about how Urban Meyer and previous coaches made it personal against Michigan, despite the national recruiting footprint, Herbstreit said that’s what Day needs to strive for moving forward.

“Ohio State has great players and they have a great culture,” Herbstreit said. “But when it comes to that game, it’s become a psychological aspect of the game. I still think Michigan has a bunch of guys that are great players but maybe not quite as recruited at the level of Ohio State. And they got a chip on their shoulder to prove that they are collectively better than the Marvin Harrison Jr.’s and the Emeka Egbuka’s and all the great individual superstars that Ohio State has. 

“They have a chip on their shoulder to show Ohio State, we have a better culture, we’re better than you and right now that united front is more powerful than what Ohio State has. Even with that being said they had the ball late, they had a chance, they moved the ball into Michigan territory, and you got to give Michigan all the credit in the world. They made the plays that they had to, to win the game.”