TL;DR
- Ryan Day holds a 1-4 record against Michigan, with no home wins versus the Wolverines.
- Ohio State has not defeated Michigan away from home since Day's sole victory in 2019.
- Woody Hayes leads OSU coaches with 16 wins against Michigan over 28 seasons.
- Urban Meyer achieved a school-record seven consecutive wins against Michigan from 2012-2018.
Saturday afternoon marks the start of the game, and few rivalries burn as intensely as Ohio State versus Michigan. The Wolverines aim to secure a fifth consecutive win against the Buckeyes, having triumphed in the past four contests from 2021 through 2024.
A significant point of contention for Buckeye head coach Ryan Day revolves around his teams' performance against OSU's primary adversary. Across five seasons, Day holds a 1-4 record versus the Wolverines, securing his sole victory in The Game during 2019.
Actually, if the Buckeyes hadn't achieved championship status last year, Ohio State would have probably replaced Day considering his performance in the rivalry. Let's examine how Day's record against Michigan stacks up against some of OSU's most successful coaches throughout the school's history.
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Ryan Day record vs. Michigan
Day's record heading into Saturday's matchup with Michigan stands at 1-4 overall. Notably, he's 0-4 against the Wolverines when playing in Columbus, meaning he's never defeated Michigan at home. The outcomes of the last two contests were decided by a single score or fewer. Below is a brief overview of each of those five games:
- 2019: 56-27 victory in Ann Arbor
- 2020: Game cancelled due to COVID
- 2021: 42-27 loss in Ann Arbor
- 2022: 45-23 loss at home
- 2023: 30-24 loss in Ann Arbor
- 2024: 13-10 loss at home
Ohio State aims for its initial away victory in this matchup on Saturday, a feat not achieved since Day's sole triumph against Michigan in 2019.
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Ohio State's record against Michigan, broken down by coach
Michigan leads the all-time series with a 62-6-51 record, dating back to 1897. This compilation details how each Ohio State coach performed against Michigan, courtesy of the Bentley Historic Library at the University of Michigan, courtesy.
| Years | Coach | Overall record | Record vs. Michigan |
| 1897 | David F. Edwards | 1-7--1 | 0-1-0 |
| 1898-1901 | John B. Eckstrom | 22-4-3 | 0-1-1 |
| 1902-1903 | Perry Hale | 14-5-2 | 0-2-0 |
| 1903-1905 | E.R. Sweatland | 14-7-2 | 0-2-1 |
| 1906-1909 | Albert E. Herrnstein | 28-10-1 | 0-4-0 |
| 1910 | Howard Jones | 6-3-0 | 0-0-1 |
| 1911 | Henry Vaughn | 5-3-2 | 0-1-0 |
| 1912 | John R. Richards | 6-3-0 | 0-1-0 |
| 1913-1928 | John W. Wilce | 78-33-9 | 4-7-0 |
| 1929-1932 | Sam S. Willaman | 26-10-5 | 2-3-0 |
| 1934-1940 | Francis A. Schmidt | 39-16-1 | 4-3-0 |
| 1940-1943 | Paul E. Brown | 18-8-1 | 1-1-1 |
| 1944-1945 | Carroll C. Widdoes | 16-2-0 | 1-1-0 |
| 1946 | Paul O. Bixlar | 4-3-2 | 0-1-0 |
| 1947-1950 | Wesley E. Fesler | 21-13-3 | 0-3-1 |
| 1951-1978 | Woody Hayes | 205-61-10 | 16-11-1 |
| 1979-1987 | Earle Bruce | 81-26-1 | 5-4-0 |
| 1988-2000 | John Cooper | 111-43-4 | 2-10-1 |
| 2001-2010 | Jim Tressel | 105-22-0 | 9-1-0 |
| 2011 | Luke Fickell | 6-7-0 | 0-1-0 |
| 2012-2018 | Urban Meyer | 83-9-0 | 7-0-0 |
| 2019-Present | Ryan Day | 70-10-0 | 1-4-0 |
Only five OSU head coaches have achieved winning records against the Wolverines: Francis A. Schmidt, Woody Hayes, Earle Bruce, Jim Tressel, and Urban Meyer.
Earle Bruce
Earle Bruce ranks as Ohio State's sixth-winningest head coach ever, trailing Day's 81 career victories. He secured five wins against Michigan between 1979 and 1987. In 1979, Ohio State triumphed 18-15, subsequently heading to the Rose Bowl. His most decisive win against Michigan occurred in 1984, with a 21-6 score, sending the Buckeyes to another Rose Bowl appearance.
Under Bruce, the Buckeyes participated in eight consecutive bowl games, achieving wins against the Wolverines in the 1981-82 and 1984 seasons.
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Woody Hayes
Woody Hayes is Ohio State's all-time winningest head coach, with 205 career victories. Over his 28 seasons with the Buckeyes, he defeated Michigan 16 times, including in years where OSU claimed national titles in 1954, 1957, 1961 and 1970.
Hayes also participated in a famous series of contests, competing against Michigan's Bo Schembechler, between 1969 and 1978. These matchups are recognized as "The Ten Year War."
Ohio State defeated Michigan 20-9 in 1970, avenging Michigan's upset victory the previous year that had prevented the Buckeyes from reaching the Rose Bowl.
Hayes secured the subsequent four contests against 1972-1975, propelling the Buckeyes to the Rose Bowl on each occasion. Every victory was by a margin of six points or less. Schembechler emerged victorious in the final three matchups of the Ten Years' War, spanning 1976-78.
Jim Tressel
Jim Tressel stands out as one of the most victorious OSU head coaches against Michigan recently. He secured nine victories over Michigan, with a streak of seven consecutive wins against the Wolverines starting from 2004-2010, though the 2010 win was subsequently nullified because of the OSU tattoo scandal.
Tressel secured his initial two victories against Michigan in 2002 and 2003. He guided the Buckeyes to a national championship following OSU's 14-9 triumph in 2002. Subsequently, he steered Ohio State to five consecutive Big Ten championships from 2005-2009, including victories in The Game. In 2005, Ohio State rallied from an 18-12 deficit in the final quarter to achieve a 25-21 win.
In 2006, both teams were ranked No. 1 and 2 for the first time in the rivalry's long history. Ohio State won 42-39 to clinch a Big Ten title and trip to the BCS National Championship. The Buckeyes came from behind in 2005 to give Tressel his fourth win in the series and assure Ohio State a tie for the conference title. In 2006, the series's first showdown between #1 and #2 rated teams, OSU held on for 42-39 victory.
In 2008, Tressel's Buckeyes achieved their most significant win margin against Michigan since 1968, with a score of 42-7 compared to the earlier 50-14 victory.
Urban Meyer
Meyer, who preceded Day, achieved one of the most remarkable showings against Michigan by a wide margin. He secured a school-record seven consecutive victories against Michigan starting from 2012-2018.
Michigan's two-point try failed with half a minute remaining in 2013, resulting in a 42-41 victory for Ohio State. The Buckeyes then extended their lead in 2014, securing a 42-28 win after a 14-14 halftime score. That same year, Ohio State claimed both a Big Ten championship and the CFP National Championship.
In 2016, Ohio State was ranked No. 2 and Michigan No. 3. The game went to overtime for the first time ever in rivalry history, with the Buckeyes prevailing 30-27 in double-overtime. The Buckeyes won two straight Big Ten titles during Meyer's last two seasons in Columbus with wins over Michigan in 2017 and 2018.
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