Over the years, every accomplishment Ryan Day came with the same uncomfortable connotations: ‘Can he beat Michigan?’ No matter how dominant recruiting classes had been, or even the pinnacle of winning the national title. The criticisms around setbacks against the ‘team of north’ always murmured in the background. That changed last year, when he defeated Sherrone Moore’s Michigan. But this time, Day strives for a greater change to solidify their chances of winning.

“You have Thanksgiving for us on Sunday night, the band used to come in and do their deal. We would get on the bus and drive up there (Ann Arbor),” Day said on Josh Pate’s May 12 podcast. “Why? Because that’s what they’ve always done here. And I just said, ‘Well, we have to keep this more like a normal week and make it normal.’ And if we continue to build every week, then we’ll be ready for that game at the end of the season.”

The standard around the Ohio State locker room has always revolved around defeating Michigan. It was there when Ryan Day became the head coach, and his predecessor head coaches worked on the same sentiment. That did give Urban Meyer results, as he went 7-0 against Michigan. But Day needed to tweak that discourse a little. So, last year, for his boys, defeating Michigan wasn’t a topmost priority; it was routine, like Ohio State was going to face ‘just another’ team.

“The guys know how important it is. You can hear it when they talk,” Day said. “We did the band thing during the bye-week. We flew up instead of driving up. And we just tried to keep everything consistent, the best we could, and I think it allowed the guys to focus on the game more and not as much on all the other things that come with it.”

Ohio State entered the Big House as massive favorites in November. But that was also the case in 2024, and even then, the Wolverines managed to churn out a win at the Shoe. In 2025, though, the mood was different. Everyone knew Michigan wasn’t as prolific as it was, say, under Jim Harbaugh, and Day let that sentiment become a dominant discourse. That was the reason when Michigan went 6-0 up in the first quarter; OSU players didn’t falter as they had in previous years.

“We know how much it means to everybody. But sometimes when you spend so much on it, and it’s been a couple of years where it’s not going well, there can be so much on it that you almost become paralyzed. And we didn’t want that to happen,” Day said. “I thought it was a good example of that, you know. We threw the pick early in the game, and then came right back and just kept playing. I didn’t affect us like maybe it had in the past.”

Compare the 2025 ‘Game’ with the year before’s and the change seems crystal clear. Ohio State scored a field goal and took a 3-0 lead in the first quarter, and could have used it as a momentum to dictate the tempo. Instead, Michigan, which didn’t even have a declared QB1, responded with 13 points as Ohio State played catch-up throughout in Columbus. Will Howard threw two interceptions, and the team couldn’t quite recover as it did in 2025.

Ohio State has one of the nation’s top recruiting classes, highlighted by five-star talent Chris Henry Jr. He has also brought in a total of 17 portal players to offset his 31 portal losses. Moreover, veterans like Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith also return to provide that added layer. Since the ‘Game’ is in Columbus this year, it also gives Day a home advantage. Add his newfound strategy, and it will help Ryan Day close down his 2-4 Michigan record. But he still can’t underestimate Michigan.

Despite a proven strategy, Ryan Day shouldn’t underestimate Kyle Whittingham

This year, Michigan has a new head coach in Kyle Whittingham, and the program is going through a crucial transition. But despite that transition, Whittingham has managed to produce an 11th-ranked 2026 recruiting class, convincing most recruits of his philosophy. He has also brought in a whopping 19 transfer portal players to offset Michigan’s 25 portal losses. Most importantly, QB1 Bryce Underwood is now experienced and won’t make the mistakes we saw him making last year.

Last year, Underwood didn’t have a dedicated QBs coach, and the Wolverines’ staff hoped his raw talent would make the coaching job easy. Partly because of that, Underwood’s passing efficiency hovered at 60.3%, and he also threw 9 interceptions. This year, Kyle Whittingham has brought in QBs coach Koy Detmer Jr. from Utah to improve the mistakes made in 2025. Additionally, the dropped passes that occurred last season also won’t be an issue for him this year.

Whittingham has brought in Jaime Ffrench junior and JJ Buchanan from the portal to bolster the receiving unit. The team also returns sophomore Andrew Marsh and Kendrick Bell, boosting the receiving unit. In all, this year, Underwood is set to add at least 5.50% to his passing efficiency, which it would have been, had the receivers not dropped his passes last year.

“He progressed all through spring,” Whittingham said about Underwood. “Some things that may not be noticeable to just the general populous. His footwork, his pocket presence … he’s improved in all areas. Now, he still has work to do. He knows that, we know that. But I think he’s ahead of where he was, certainly, from last season.”

Considering the dynamic at Michigan, would Ryan Day’s 2025 strategy work this year? Will he be treating Michigan ‘just like any other team’, this year, too? And will that backfire this year, unlike 2025? It remains to be seen if Ryan Day adapts a new strategy. But it’s likely he will stick with his 2025 approach. Why fix something that isn’t broken?