Ryan Day has his place among the most elite coaches in college football. With his national championship win in 2024 and a 77-10 record with the Ohio State Buckeyes, he is one of the most winningest coaches of the modern era. Even so, Day has faced many failures throughout his career, but none more taxing than his shortcomings against Michigan.

Ohio State and Michigan have the most deep-rooted rivalry in college football. It is an age-old feud that has waged on since the 1960s. Often billed as “The Game,” no other rivalry in college football is as heated or as impactful. Thus, regardless of one’s reputation or credit in the bank, losing the game can have adverse consequences. Unfortunately, it is something Ryan Day knows all too well.

In excerpts from Bill Rabinowitz’s book Buckeye Brotherhood, he reveals Nina Day’s thoughts as she watched her husband return to the locker room after the Buckeyes’ 13-10 loss to the Wolverines last year. “I think he was just numb. I don’t think he knew how to react.” Indeed, the head coach knew what the loss meant, and with fans calling for his head, Day was preoccupied with getting his family home safe. Even before the game had ended, his wife had been on the receiving end of nasty messages, some of which threatened the safety of her family.

The next morning, Day set off for work early, but not before reassuring his wife that everything would be okay. “He just looked down at me and said, ‘I’m going to fight my way out of this. It’s the only thing I can do,” Nina said. “He left, and I just cried and thought, ‘Well, he’s said that to me before, and he’s done it,’ so I just had to believe he was going to find a way out of this again.”

Despite the heavy setback, Ryan Day was not one to sit and wallow in self-pity. With games coming thick and fast, he knew that the season needed to be salvaged. At a time when fans were lined up with pitchforks at his door, nobody expected what Day did next.

How did Ryan Day cope with the setback loss to Michigan?

Naturally, it took a while for Ryan to recover from the loss to Michigan. In what is an otherwise remarkable resume, Day’s time at Ohio State is marred by his losses to arch-rival Michigan. This loss marked the Buckeyes and Day’s fourth consecutive loss in the matchup. The only time he had managed to beat out their nemesis was in 2019, back when Jim Harbaugh was still at the helm.

Ohio State had also become a perpetual ‘nearly’ team, falling through by the end of the season. This time was different. The College Football Playoffs were approaching, and Ryan Day threw himself at his work like never before. According to Nina Day, “He became maniacal. It was every second of every day. Even in the middle of the night, he would be up typing notes.” The only time she had seen her husband work as hard was in 2020, against Clemson in the CFP semifinals. The Ohio State head coach buried himself in work, and while his family dealt with the world outside, he hatched a plan to bring home the national championship.

Things got to the point that his 16-year-old son, RJ, began receiving death threats. Despite all this, Ohio State went on a dream playoff run, dispatching Tennessee, Oregon and Texas, before defeating Notre Dame 34-23 to win the national championship.

To date, it is one of the most remarkable turnarounds in college football history. From being on the doorstep and almost forced out of Columbus, Ryan Day delivered Ohio State its first national championship in a decade. Now 7-0 so far this season, the Buckeyes look likely to make it to the championship once again. If they do, serious conversations about a new dynasty in college football could begin.