Ryan Day explains how much the defeats against Michigan motivate him

There are few programs that are as successful as Ohio State was under Ryan DayHowever, the Buckeyes also had problems against rivals Michigan and watched the Wolverines win the national championship, which increased the pressure on Day.

Nevertheless, Day stated on The Joel Klatt Show that Michigan’s success doesn’t motivate him any more than it would in any other season, even though he has worked to position the Buckeyes for future success.

“I don’t think you’re more or less motivated in any one year,” Ryan Day said. “I think every year, every team is a little different. But to say those games didn’t hurt – of course they did. It’s a bad week in Columbus if you don’t win that game.”

Ryan Day took over Ohio State in 2019 and won his first game against the Wolverines. At that point, Ohio State had won 15 of 16 games against Michigan. Since then, however, Michigan has reeled off three straight wins as the two programs have reversed roles, culminating in Michigan winning the 2023 national championship.

“Whether it’s the guys deciding to come back or whether it’s making strong decisions in those moments, yeah, I can say you have to figure out what needs to be fixed to win the game,” Day said.

“That’s the key and that’s what we did.”

This offseason, Ohio State has undergone a major restructuring of its roster. Starting Quarterback Kyle McCord and Ryan Day was busy reloading the squad in the portal. This included bringing in Will Howard at quarterback, Caleb Downs as defensive back and Quinshon Judkins including running back.

Now the expectations for Ryan Day in 2024 are enormous, as he will not only beat Michigan again, but will also make it deep into the College Football Playoffs given the wealth of talent on the roster.

Ryan Day emphasizes at Ohio State University that the process is more important than the result

Ryan Day has always emphasized that for Ohio State, a good process matters more than the results.

“If the focus is on the result? Not good. The focus has to be on the process. The focus has to be on your habits. In later matchups, in the playoffs, in the rivalry game? If we don’t play our best in those areas, if we don’t improve our fundamentals, if we don’t focus on the process? That’s going to catch up with us,” Day said.

“When you have young players who have never been through this before, it’s a lot harder than when they’ve been through this before and then don’t finish the way you want them to. We’re counting on those leaders to be experienced enough to say, ‘Hey, man, we need to focus on the habits and we need to focus on the process – not the results of these games.'”