Head coach Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes won their first 11 games of the 2023 college football season, but their victory was rendered meaningless in Columbus after they were defeated by the Michigan Wolverines in Week 13. The loss eliminated Ohio State’s College Football Playoff hopes and was the team’s third consecutive loss against Michigan.
Can Day and his teammates regroup in 2024 after what was likely their most difficult loss to the Wolverines in recent memory?
On the most recent episode of “The No. 1 College Football Show with RJ Young,” host RJ Young outlined why he believes Day and the Buckeyes will bounce back next season.
“The defense is still the defense, and it was excellent at Ohio State last year. It’s just us.We couldn’t start talking about it in a serious sense because we were still trying to figure out why they couldn’t run the ball and why it was Marvin Harrison Jr. or bust for them, knowing what the wide receiver group is like.
And it’s really about the offensive line, which I don’t believe was particularly good at running the ball. “I believe they’ll be better this year; I’m not sure if they’ll be great,” Young remarked. “You add Caleb Downs to an already strong defense. You get males.
“You have a generation of players at Ohio State right now that is playing for it all, so in that way, Ryan Day and his team are both playing for their futures … you want to be that team that finally beat Michigan. I’m sure Ryan Day does not want it on his résumé that he went out with losses to Michigan.”
After beating Michigan in eight consecutive matchups, Ohio State lost to its archival, 42-27, at The Big House in 2021. It then lost at home to Michigan in 2022, with the Wolverines pulling away in the fourth quarter to win 45-23. This past season, Ohio State lost in The Big House once more, 30-24.
In last season’s edition of The Game, Michigan devoured the game clock in the fourth quarter with a 13-play, 7:00 minute drive, leaving Ohio State with no timeouts and just 1:05 to put together a game-winning touchdown drive; Buckeyes quarterback Kyle McCord was intercepted on the fourth play of the ensuing drive.
Michigan went on to win the Big Ten Championship Game and crack the College Football Playoff for a third consecutive season and then win the College Football Playoff National Championship. The Wolverines are now steered by former offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore, who was promoted to head coach after Jim Harbaugh left Ann Arbor for the Los Angeles Chargers.
On the other hand, Ohio State went on to lose to Missouri in the Cotton Bowl, 14-3, finishing 11-2 for a third consecutive season. The Buckeyes haven’t won the Big Ten since 2020 and are 1-3 against the Wolverines under Day.
