Newsstand: ESPN writer says Jim Harbaugh and Ryan Day have switched spots
Once upon a time, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh was criticized for his inability to beat the Ohio State Buckeyes. It was the lone mark against an otherwise fruitful first set of years in Ann Arbor, but eventually, the noise around the OSU rivalry was defeating.
Now, the shoe is on the other foot. OSU head coach Ryan Day has lost 2-straight to the Wolverines and failed to win a Big Ten Championship. National pundits such as ESPN’s Bill Connelly are starting to remind him of that.
Here’s what Connelly had to say about the paradigm shift in the rivalry:
In four seasons at Ohio State, Day is 42-5. His Buckeyes have never finished lower than sixth in the AP poll and probably won’t this season. In 2019, they lost only to an absurdly talented Clemson team in the best game of the season. In 2020, they lost only to Nick Saban’s most dominant Alabama team. They have lost only once to a team that finished worse than third in the AP poll.
But they’ve now gotten the crap kicked out of them by Michigan two years in a row.
Last year in Ann Arbor, they gave up 28 points and 265 yards (in just 24 snaps) in the second half of a 42-27 loss to the Wolverines. In response, Day brought in a super-aggressive, new defensive coordinator (Jim Knowles) and tried to reestablish the toughness that appeared to have been lost at some point.
This year in Columbus, after all the change and a 52-week wait to redeem themselves, the Buckeyes gave up 28 points and 316 yards in the second half of a 45-23 loss to the Wolverines.
In last week’s Rivalry Week preview, I wrote that for all of the Buckeyes’ apparent defensive improvement, we didn’t know if they were ready for Michigan because they hadn’t faced any team like Michigan. Turns out, they weren’t ready.
Tweets of the day
Michigan quote of the day
“Cornelius Johnson could have been somebody who complained about how many targets he was getting or ‘the passing game should be front and center,’ but doesn’t. Continues to block, make the tough catch across the middle. In this past game, he really got us started. Mazi Smith has asthma. Completely changed his body in the weight room to become the football freak No. 1. … Taylor Upshaw could have been bitter about not getting as much play time as some of the other guys at the position. (He) didn’t, and now he’s a legend.”
– Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh on seniors who stepped up in win over Ohio State
