Ryan Day admits biggest mistake in Ohio State’s second straight Michigan loss

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day owned up to a mistake he made in preparation for Michigan.

Ohio State is riding a two-game losing streak heading into 2023, but we did see a different Buckeyes team under Ryan Day vs. Georgia after getting pushed around by arch rival Michigan.

Day appeared on the inaugural podcast of More Than Coach Speak with Ohio State basketball coach Chris Holtmann and former Buckeyes star Terence Dials. He admitted to a big mistake in preparation heading into The Game vs. the Wolverines. Since the game was in The Horseshoe, Day thought the Buckeyes could play bully ball with Michigan, but that turned out to be a terrible idea.

Ohio State can do this against most of the teams it plays because the Buckeyes have a massive talent advantage, but when you are facing a worthy adversary who marks you as their equal, you could be in for a bad time…

Here is what Day told Holtmann and Dials while appearing on More Than Coach Speak this week.

"“I think back on this year and our rivalry game. You want the game so bad that the focus can just be on winning the game, but what does winning the game actually mean? You can’t just win the game. You have to win each play. You have to win each situation. I think the mistake I’ve probably made is, ‘We’re going to win this game. Let’s get after them. Let’s get physical. Let’s beat them up.’ When you’re playing a team or a player that’s equal to you, you have to focus on winning every single possession, every single play. And how do you do that? Great technique, great focus. Eventually, you will win the game.”"

Ohio State has not beaten Michigan since 2019, losing the last two games to their arch rival…

Ryan Day opens up to the huge mistake Ohio State made preparing for Michigan

The good news is we did see the Buckeyes play a more complete and committed game throughout against elite competition vs. Georgia. Unfortunately, the Dawgs were able to out-execute Ohio State throughout the fourth quarter, enough to the point where they eked out a one-point victory over a Buckeyes team who largely outplayed them. The bad news is the Big Ten is getting better…

It is not just the Wolverines the Buckeyes have to worry about. Penn State should once again field a top-10 team in the country. Frankly, the Nittany Lions might make the College Football Playoff for the first time ever, despite breaking in a new starting quarterback in Drew Allar. Michigan still has J.J. McCarthy running the show, but Ohio State is undecided on Devin Brown and Kyle McCord.

Ultimately, I would still expect for Ohio State to have one of the six best teams in college football next year. The only problem with that is Michigan is definitely a top-six team, so is Georgia, and Penn State just might be. Long gone is the day and age where Ohio State can simply show up and beat the other team walking off the bus. The top-tier of college football has leveled up. Will they?

If how Ohio State played against Georgia is a sign of what is to come, that is fantastic for them.