Today's win over Michigan was a long time coming for Ohio State football coach Ryan Day, but now is apparently not the time to gloat.

Day, who was the subject of immense scrutiny, criticism, and hate for his struggles in ‘The Game', decided against letting his naysayers know after the Buckeyes' first win against the Wolverines in six years.

“I've thought, as you can imagine, over the years, after winning this game, what I'd say in this press conference, and I'm going to save all those comments because I think the best thing to do is win with humility, and that's what we're going to do,” Day said in the postgame press conference. “And I think that it speaks to our program. It speaks to what it means to be a Buckeye. And we wanted to take this rivalry game back this year. And so the way that our guys played certainly spoke to that, and they played with great passion and great physicality.

“I'm disappointed that we didn't get in down there and finish a couple of those drives early, or else the scoreboard would look even differently than it was, but that's the rivalry game. I'm just happy, again, for our players. It's a great, great win. And when you think about where we were at this point last year, to all the way now, there's been a lot of great football.”

Aside from his clashes with Michigan, Day has been an excellent head coach. In seven seasons at Ohio State, Day has won nearly 88% of his games, as well as two conference titles, three division titles, and, as of January, a national title.

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However, the Wolverines proved particularly troublesome for Day, who had been a part of three consecutive Buckeye wins from 2017 to 2019, the first two of which as the offensive coordinator and the latter as head coach. Following the 56-27 victory in 2019, the two teams did not play each other as a result of the COVID pandemic, and once they emerged from that, it was all Michigan.

The Wolverines beat Ohio State 42-27 in 2021 for their first win against OSU since 2011, and they followed it up with a 45-23 win the next year (the first back-to-back wins since 1999-2000), and then a stunning 13-10 upset over the second-ranked Buckeyes last season, marking the first time Michigan had beaten Ohio State three straight years since 1995 to 1997.

Fortunately for Day, despite an embarrassing loss in ‘The Game' a year ago, he and the Buckeyes sufficiently recovered and rolled to a College Football Playoff national championship less than two months later. With OSU finishing the 2025 regular season 12-0, last year's loss to Michigan remains its most recent defeat, and it has extended its win streak to 16.

Day and the Buckeyes will try to win their first Big Ten championship since 2020 next week, when they play undefeated No. 2 Indiana.