For college football fans, one of the most fun weekends is rivalry week, when the embers of enmity between longtime college football adversaries will flicker once more. In terms of FBS rivalries, there's none bigger than Ohio State and Michigan.
So, if it's fun to watch the rivalry, how fun is it to be a coach and prepare during the Ohio State-Michigan week? Well, Buckeyes coach Ryan Day on Tuesday was asked that very question. Let's just say he has a different idea of "fun" than Michigan coach Sherrone Moore would.
"Fun is kicking ass."
— Dave Holmes (@DaveHolmesTV) November 25, 2025
Here's my question and Ryan Day's answer, describing what it's like to prepare for Michigan. pic.twitter.com/OhSTnBFRxz
"Like I say, fun is kicking a--," Day said. "And that's what we wanna do on Saturday. So, we're preparing to do that and that's it. Like, there's nothing funny about this at all. There's not, but the fun part is winning. So, we'll save the fun for being in the locker room and celebrating after the game..."
Day's lack of success vs. Michigan
If it was surprising that Day is taking a business-like approach to this year's iteration of The Game, it shouldn't be. By any measure, Day, who owns an 81-10 record and one national championship during his eight years in Columbus, is one of the very best coaches in college football. But his 1-4 career record against the Wolverines hangs over his tenure like a dark storm cloud. And last season's loss was equal parts vexing and constructive.
The Buckeyes, then ranked No. 2 in the nation and sporting just one loss, entered last year's game against unranked Michigan with (seemingly) the upper hand. But the Wolverines stymied the Buckeyes' offense and stunned Ohio State with a 13-10 win, then the two teams infamously got into a postgame brawl after a Michigan flag was planted on the Buckeyes' logo at Ohio Stadium.
But the Buckeyes, stung and motivated by the loss, rattled off four straight wins to capture a national title.
Ohio State football player says 2024 Michigan loss motivated Day
And that loss may have lit a fire under Day, as Buckeyes wide receiver Brandon Inniss indicated when he told reporters that Day has had a "different look in his eye" since the defeat to the Wolverines.
What does Day think?
"We’re all a sum of our experiences," Day said. "You learn from things, and you grow from things, and you try to do everything you can, again, to put your guys in a situation to be successful. That’s it. We’re gonna rely on our experiences going into this week. We all grow. We do things well. We have our failures, but you got to grow from them. That’s it.
"This team right here is a different team. They have a great look in their eye. That’s the most important thing here. That’s the focus."
Ohio State and Michigan will kick off at 12:00 p.m. ET on Saturday at Michigan Stadium.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Ryan Day Had Sharp Reply When Asked How 'Fun' Ohio State-Michigan Week Is.
