Jack Sawyer reflects on historic Michigan upset: 'I'll never get over that loss'
Michigan Wolverines football’s fourth-straight win over the rival Ohio State Buckeyes has not lost its luster around Ann Arbor, but the OSU faithful are finding ways to get over it with its team on the doorstep of a potential College Football Playoff National Championship.
Senior Jack Sawyer, a now-infamous footnote in the rivalry, threw a temper tantrum on the field after the 13-10 Michigan win on Nov. 30, which sent his career record to 0-4 in The Game. Whether or not the Buckeyes win a national title, that is a part of the legacy his group will be a part of.
Head coach Ryan Day stood frozen in place on the field in Columbus on that last Saturday in November as his senior captain whined about flag-planting and his players rushed back on the field after losing a game as a three-touchdown favorite. Day once again became a national punching bag, but the blows did not hit harder than the ones from the Columbus faithful.
“The amount of s*** that Coach has taken on our behalf is insane,” Sawyer wrote in The Players Tribune on Jan. 16. “I remember he was telling us about how, after one of our losses to The Team Up North, he had to take his son and his daughters out of school — because not only were kids saying stuff about them and their dad and how they need to leave town and they’re not welcome here, but actual teachers were as well.
“Hearing that made us so angry. But I also think a reason that stuff has been able to happen, it’s because of how high Coach’s character is. He refuses to hang his players out to dry. In the good times, he wants the spotlight on us. In the bad times, he wants the spotlight on himself. And it’s definitely unacceptable, the amount of toxic bulls*** he’s had to deal with over the years.”
The loss to Michigan, which dropped Day to 1-4 against its rival, was one of two-regular season setbacks the Buckeyes suffered. And no matter what happens, it’ll be a game that Day, Sawyer and the Buckeyes always have to live with.
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“Oregon? Brutal. Beyond brutal — just so tough in every way,” Sawyer wrote. “Then losing to TTUN at home, as these huge favorites, knowing it was our class’s last chance to beat them……. I can’t even describe it. I won’t ever get over that loss. And honestly, it’s the type of loss most teams don’t get up from.”
To OSU’s credit, it did get up off the mat and has won games against Tennessee, Oregon and Texas to set up a national title bout with Notre Dame. Michigan fans have thrown their rooting interests behind a giant meteor instead of striking the city of Atlanta on Monday night.
The Buckeyes are favored to win, and that will not be an easy visual to digest for Michigan fans. But it can sleep easily Monday night knowing it has four-straight wins over its rival in addition to three Big Ten titles and a national title.
It all sets up a heck of a matchup in Ann Arbor to close out the 2025 season regardless. Michigan goes for five-straight on Nov. 29.
