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The most interesting thing I heard Saturday after Ohio State beat Michigan was Ryan Day taking the high road in victory.
Day might have handled the postgame interview even better than he did the game plan for Ohio State’s 27-9 win over the Wolverines.
After all the slings and arrows the head coach of the Buckeyes absorbed over the previous four seasons (some fair, some not), he had every right to spit fire after his team beat down the Wolverines.
“So I've thought, as you can imagine over the years, after winning this game, what I'd say in this press conference. And I'm gonna save all those comments, because I think the best thing to do is win with humility, and that's what we're gonna do, and I think that speaks to our program. It speaks to what it means to be a Buckeye.”
This was not just a win but an exorcism.
Day handled all family business:
The Buckeyes showcased their weapons on the outside, as fans and analysts were pleading for him to do since about 10 seconds after last season’s win ended.
They also got physical with Michigan on both sides of the ball.
The running game worked, and the run defense thrived, too.
There were now, ‘Yeah, buts’ in this game. It was a thorough destruction.
This wasn’t a matter of Michigan being efficient but lacking big plays. The Wolverines couldn’t do anything on offense (after Ohio State adjusted to that one successful run), and they seemed pretty resigned to their fate based on the uninspired game plan.
After pushing all the right buttons in Michigan’s win there two years ago, Sherrone Moore admitted defeat with 6:50 left when he called a classic surrender punt with his team trailing by three scores.
Ohio State even proved it could come from behind, overcoming some early game adversity in a way I definitely wasn’t sure they could do before it started.
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I’ve had plenty of criticisms of Day on and off the field during the losing streak, both for Ohio State’s style of play and approach to recruiting. (Both appear to be fixed, by the way.)
But I was sure to credit him last year after the national championship because the Buckeyes not only won, they did it Day’s way.
He has shown a knack for fixing problems since the very beginning of his tenure as Ohio State head coach, but now he is getting better at anticipating them so they don’t have to be solved.
He’s struck every correct note since that loss to Michigan last season, and that continued Saturday.
“We wanted to take this rivalry game back this year, and so the way that our guys played certainly spoke to that. And they played with great passion and great physicality. And I'm just disappointed that we didn't get in down there and finish a couple of those drives early or else the scoreboard would have looked even differently than it was. But that's the rivalry game, and I'm just happy again for our players. It's a great, great win…
“And then how about the defense, just the physicality of the line of scrimmage, running from sideline to sideline, making plays?
“It was just great. They had a great look in their eye. I don't think there was any doubt when we walked into the stadium, what was gonna happen.”
Nobody would have blamed Day if he pointed out how shameful the Wolverines acted all afternoon on the field or mocked them for guarding their ‘M’ at midfield better than they did the middle of the field when the Buckeyes had the ball.
He could have made a point to explain why Michigan’s massive cheating scandal altered the course of college football and many careers of players and coaches, but he let it go.
And that made Michigan look that much smaller while elevating Ohio State yet again.
Hey, there are bigger fish to fry anyway.
That starts with the Big Ten Championship Game this Saturday night. Then there is a national championship to defend.
Can the Buckeyes do it?
It seems like they have the right guy in position to lead them.
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