Ryan Day on if Michigan loss helped Ohio State: 'It's hard for me to say something like that'

The pressure on head coach Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes became nearly overwhelming after losing to rival Michigan for a fourth straight season. Since then, his Buckeyes have responded with two massive wins in the College Football Playoff, including a blowout over Oregon in the Rose Bowl.

Following that win over Oregon, Day was asked if the loss to Michigan, as devastating as it was to Ohio State at the time, actually could have helped the Buckeyes heading into the Playoff.

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

“It’s hard for me to say something like that,” Ryan Day said. “But I know that you’re a sum of your experiences. This team has had great wins this season, it’s some tough losses. We have learned from those. You got to grow, and you got to build, and you got to make sure you’re focusing on your strengths and making sure that you understand what your weaknesses are. I think that’s a big part of it.”

In the immediate aftermath of the loss to Michigan, there were some questions being floated about the future of Day as the head coach at Ohio State. That’s despite winning at least 11 games in every full season he’s coached there.

With that pressure mounting, in the two College Football Playoff games Ohio State has been dominant. In the first round, Ohio State hosted Tennessee. After winning that game, they moved on to the Rose Bowl where the Buckeyes avenged an October loss to Oregon. Combined, Ohio State was able to win those games by a combined score of 83-3. In the process, the Michigan loss has drifted into the background.

“Ultimately, it comes down to our guys,” Day said. “I just keep coming back to that because these guys are resilient. We’re at a place where you can hear a lot of noise, but they didn’t do that. I’m very, very proud of our staff. I’m very, very proud of our players. But we’re far from done.”

Next season, regardless of how the 2024-25 season ends for Ohio State, pressure will again begin to mount on Day as he approaches The Game and will try to snap the Buckeyes’ losing streak that has now ballooned to four straight losses. In the meantime, though, the focus will be on the College Football Playoff.

With the Rose Bowl win, Ohio State moved onto the semifinal of the College Football Playoff. There, the Buckeyes are set to take on the Texas Longhorns. That game will double as the Cotton Bowl and will be played on January 10th at 7:30 p.m. EST.