Ryan Day has enjoyed some successful seasons as the head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes football team. He has an overall record of 66-10 as we near the end of his 6th year at the helm, and his time has included an appearance in the National Championship game back in January 2021. But the biggest blemish on his resume has been his record in the rivalry against Michigan, where he has one of the worst records of any Ohio State coach ever.
Ryan Day Is 1-4 In Five Games Against Michigan
Since 1951, Ohio State has only employed a total of six coaches. Woody Hayes had the longest tenure, with 276 games coached over the span of 27 years, while John Cooper and Jim Tressel had long stays at the university as well. They all enjoyed their own degree of success throughout the years, but had varying results against their biggest rivals.
Urban Meyer vs. Michigan: 7-0
Ryan Day vs. Michigan: 1-4 pic.twitter.com/phucUiEE4H
— College Sports Only (@CollegeSportsO) November 30, 2024
It is actually Urban Meyer who posted the best record against Michigan of any Ohio State coach since 1951. In his seven years on the job, he never once lost to the Wolverines, posting a perfect record of 7-0 and remains the only Buckeyes coach to never lose to Big Blue. Trestle went 9-1 in his time, while Hayes posted a record of 16-11-1.
Ryan Day has had five chances thus far, including Saturday’s contest in Columbus. After the defeat at the hands of the 20+ point underdog Wolverines, Day’s record has dropped to 1-4, the fewest wins of any Ohio State coach in the rivalry since Wesley E. Fesler went 0-3-1 between 1947-1951.
He doesn’t quite have the worst winning percentage, though. The 1-4 record for Day is good enough for a winning percentage of 20%, which is just slightly better than the 19.2% (2-10-1) posted by Cooper between the years of 1988 and 2000.
Ohio State Coaches vs. Michigan Since 1951:
| Coach Name | Record Against Michigan | Winning Percentage |
| Woody Hayes | 16-11-1 | 58.9% |
| Earle Bruce | 5-4 | 55.5% |
| John Cooper | 2-10-1 | 19.2% |
| Jim Tressel | 9-1 | 90% |
| Urban Meyer | 7-0 | 100% |
| Ryan Day | 1-4 | 20% |
The most recent of Day’s losses to Michigan is perhaps the most damning. Ohio State was favored by more than 20 points for the rivalry game on Saturday, but the Buckeyes were stifled by the Wolverines in a defensive battle that featured just 23 total points between the two sides. Ohio State had scored 30+ points in nine of the eleven games leading up to this year’s game against Michigan, but managed just one touchdown and one field goal.
Whether Ryan Day gets another chance at improving his record may be up in the air. Depending on the results of the upcoming bowl season and a potential college football playoff, the 45-year-old coach’s job may be on the line. Ohio State has reached as high as #2 in the AP Poll in each of the six full seasons that Day has been the leader, but has just the one National Championship loss to show for it in the end.
