Ryan Day has been walking around with a different energy all season. His players have noticed it. Brandon Inniss, the Ohio State wide receiver, even said publicly that Day had “a different look in his eye” since the Buckeyes lost to Michigan in Columbus last November. But while Ohio State’s locker room might be rallying around their embattled coach, there’s at least one person who isn’t buying the redemption arc. It’s Connor Stalions, and he’s got a message for Ryan Day.​​

Chase Brown posted what Inniss said on X. “A lot of people see it. I just feel like ever since that Team Up North loss last year, it’s been a different Coach Day,” Inniss explained. That’s when Stalions, the former Michigan staffer at the center of the sign-stealing scandal, decided to chime in with a reply that twisted the knife.

“You know what they say. ‘Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on you. Fool me three times, shame on you. Fool me four times, shame on me,'” Stalions wrote, adjusting the old saying to fit Ryan Day’s four-game losing streak perfectly. It was the troll job that Stalions has become known for.

He famously posted after last year’s Michigan win, “They said I wasn’t allowed in Columbus this year. Just checking in on my buddy Ryan. Everything good???” This time, though, the mockery felt different because Stalions knows what everyone else watching this rivalry knows. Michigan’s chances of making it five straight look pretty grim.​

The Wolverines are limping into The Game without Justice Haynes, their leading rusher, who’s done for the season after undergoing foot surgery. Haynes had been Michigan’s most consistent offensive weapon. Losing him forces the Wolverines to rely on a patchwork running game against an Ohio State defense that’s been dominant all year. 

Making matters worse, the weather forecast for Ann Arbor on Saturday shows potential snow and rain. That weather usually favors the team that can run the ball and control the clock. That’s exactly what Michigan wants to do, but may struggle to execute without their best back. But even Stalions’ trolling suggests he knows the odds aren’t in Michigan’s favor this time.​

That’s the real twist here. Ryan Day’s players see that desperation, that “different look in his eye,” and they’re feeding off it. The irony is that Stalions is taking his shot at Day precisely when Ohio State looks most dangerous, when Michigan is most vulnerable, and when the streak feels most likely to end. 

Maybe that’s the point. Get one more jab in while you still can. Because Saturday at noon in Ann Arbor might finally be the day Ryan Day shuts everyone up. 

The loudest bark before the bite

If Connor Stalions wasn’t enough for you, Dave Portnoy isn’t holding back either. The Barstool founder has been on a tear this week. While talking on WakeUpBarstool, he said, referencing the OSU-Michigan game, “If we can put game pressure on those cowards, you may see, for the first time in the history of college football, a head coach urinate himself on the sidelines.”

As the matchup comes closer, he has been becoming more and more unhinged with his comments. But the thing is, when you’ve got both Portnoy and Connor Stalions going this hard at Ohio State in the same week, talking this much trash, it doesn’t sound like confidence. It sounds like whistling past the graveyard. They’re trying to speak it into existence because deep down, they know what the rest of us can see. Michigan has no business being on the same field as this Ohio State team.​

The overcompensation is the tell. Portnoy spent months trolling Ohio State for allegedly banning him from the stadium before the Texas game. He accused them of being “broken” by Michigan and living in fear of him specifically. Stalions is quote-tweeting every piece of Ohio State news he can find, launching missiles at Day like he’s still getting paid to scout the Buckeyes. 

But all that noise can’t hide the reality. Michigan is 8-2, playing without their best running back, and is not even close to a favorite in their own stadium. So yeah, Portnoy can joke about Day wetting himself, and Stalions can twist old sayings to fit his narrative. But the fact that they’re both working this hard to get into Ohio State’s head tells you everything you need to know about where their actual confidence sits.