Ryan Day: 'There's nothing quite like The Game'

Ryan Day is part of a very select club of men, one of the 44 who have paced the sidelines during The Game as either the head coach of Michigan or Ohio State. He knows the privilege of his position and the pressure that comes with it.

And the scenario on set for Saturday in Columbus is as good as it gets: Bitter rivals, both undefeated and playing with a conference championship game — and potentially College Football Playoff — spot on the line. Or as Day explained it during his press conference on Tuesday, “This is what it’s all about.”

“Four years, it’s been a while. Being the 100th year anniversary, it’s going to mean a lot more to a lot of people on Saturday. We understand that,” Day said. “There’s nothing quite like The Game. Certainly have learned so much over my time here at Ohio State about what this traditions means to so many across the country and that’s why we work The Game so hard and take a lot of pride in being our best here. And this is our No. 1 goal every season.”

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The anniversary Day referenced is this season being the 100th anniversary of Ohio Memorial Stadium — the Horseshoe — and not to do with the rivalry itself, which dates back to 1897. It’s also a special occasion for Day at the Horseshoe as it will be his first time coaching against Michigan there. In 2019 and 2021, The Game was in Ann Arbor and in 2020 was cancelled because of Covid issues for the Wolverines.

And in front of their own partisans, Ohio State and Day are ostensibly playing for all the goals they laid out ahead of the season: Beating Michigan, winning the Big Ten, going to the CFP and winning a national championship.

But after the introspection-sparking 42-27 loss a year ago, there’s even more at play for the Buckeyes on Saturday.

“I think about my first year being the head coach and one of the first things we started off the whole press conference was, ‘It comes down to this game and then you have to win every game after.’ So, it’s not changed. It’s been like this for 100 years here. So, I get it,” Day said. “But obviously this is a great opportunity. Both teams are undefeated. Two of the top three teams in the country going together at the end of the year? This is what it’s all about.”