Ryan Day’s Ohio State finally broke its long loss streak against the team up north last year. It was a comfortable win as the team comfortably beat Michigan 27-9 at the Big House. However, Day still has a record to equal against Michigan, with 2 more wins to go. OSU ace WR, Jeremiah Smith, sent a strong message in that regard, and now the head coach has made expectations clear.

“We all know what that game means, me more than anybody,” Day said. “And so we worked hard to make sure we got that rivalry right last year. But it’s going to be the same thing this year. The expectation isn’t just to win the game. The expectation is to win the game and win the rest of them. I’ve always tried to make sure that everybody in the building, from the day that I took this job to now, accepts that expectation. That’s what we all signed up for.”

The Buckeyes have dominated every area under Ryan Day: from recruiting to the NFL pipeline to on-field results. But the fans were still left wanting a win against Michigan, even when the team won the natty in 2024. Ohio State lost that game, 10-13 at home, and the loss came with mounting criticism. Compare that to previous head coach Urban Meyer, who won the natty in 2024, after defeating Michigan in 2014, and Day still has checkboxes to tick.

“I also get that it’s not for everybody, coaches and players. And if you don’t like it, there are a lot of other places to go,” Day said about his expectations this year. “But we embrace those expectations and are going to do everything we can to meet them.”

The Michigan team had a true freshman QB last year, along with issues going on in the background, which came to light after Sherrone Moore’s firing. This year, though, OSU will get no such leeway. New head coach Kyle Whittingham has steered the team back through recruiting and rebuilding through the transfer portal. Plus, Bryce Underwood will have two full offseasons under his belt. Defeating Michigan this year will be as Herculean as it can get.

Michigan has a total of 19 transfer portal players incoming this year, which includes some standout names. Edge rusher John Henry Daley and CB Smith Snowden join the defense from Utah. Whereas WR additions like JJ Buchanan and Jaime Ffrench will give the WR room an added boost. On top of it, Michigan’s O-line is largely composed of players from last year. That includes LT, Blake Frazier, and RT Andrew Sprague. Compare that with a team full of new faces in OSU, and no wonder even Jeremiah Smith is making expectations clear to his teammates.

Jeremiah Smith sets expectations as OSU welcomes a high number of new players

Jeremiah Smith is in his third year of college ball and is a legitimate leader in the locker room. He was also named the Iron Buckeye after OSU’s spring games, along with Brandon Inniss, Jaylen McClain, and Garrett Stover. But Smith knows he won’t be able to win the natty and defeat Michigan alone. Moreover, considering a relatively inexperienced group at Ohio State this year, he is setting the standard early.

“Not good enough, not at Ohio State,” Smith said about his team’s performance against Miami last season. “That’s why they pay us, why they pay Coach (Ryan) Day, to reach all our goals. The first one is to beat the team up north. Then it’s winning the Big Ten championship, and the third one is winning the national championship. It’s the reason you come to Ohio State, to accomplish those three things, and I feel like this year we’ve got a very good chance to do that.”

Ohio State has a whopping 44 new players on the roster, and its various WRs have left for the transfer portal. A total of 31 players opted to exit Columbus through the portal in January. Translation: 47 of OSU’s 91 players from 2025 aren’t with the team this year, and that just brings uncertainty into the mix. Nevertheless, OSU will always remain one of the favorites for the postseason heroics, and of course, beating the team up north. But it won’t be easy.