Ryan Day shares how Michigan-OSU game would be 'fun' for Buckeyes

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day is just 1-4 against Michigan in his career and is on a four-game losing streak in The Game.

Over that time frame, it's probably safe to say that Day hasn't had a whole lot of fun as it pertains to the rivalry in particular, even though he has had overall success leading the Buckeyes with an 81-10 record while leading OSU to a national title last season despite losing to the Wolverines.

On Tuesday during his press conference leading up to Saturday's game at the Big House, Day was asked by a reporter if it was "fun" being the coach at OSU and preparing for this game. Day's response seemed to give a glimpse of what he hopes the future will hold for his team after The Game this weekend.

"Like I say, fun is kicking a--," Day said. "And that's what we wanna do on Saturday. So, we're preparing to do that and that's it. Like, there's nothing funny about this at all. There's not, but the fun part is winning. So, we'll save the fun for being in the locker room and celebrating after the game."

"Fun is kicking ass."

Here's my question and Ryan Day's answer, describing what it's like to prepare for Michigan. pic.twitter.com/OhSTnBFRxz
— Dave Holmes (@DaveHolmesTV) November 25, 2025

What is Day implying?

Day's response had some Michigan fans firing back in a strong manner. It does seem ironic for Day to be discussing what it would be like to celebrate in the locker room after a win over Michigan, being that hasn't happened for the Buckeyes since 2019.

Last year, the Buckeyes came in as a 20+ point favorite and still lost on their home field to a then five-loss Michigan team, so talking publicly about hypothetical locker room celebrations does seem a bit premature.

Ohio State University football coach Ryan Day talks with the media Wednesday, December 4, 2024 after the devastating loss to Michigan for the fourth straight year. The news conference was held in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center football team meeting room in Columbus. | Doral Chenoweth/The Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Maybe Day is just attempting to instill confidence in his team with a sharp response to that type of questioning, but the fact of the matter is, there have been no 'a-- kickings' as it relates to Ohio State being on the right end of this rivalry as of late. In fact, if there is a team who can claim they have 'kicked a--' the past four years, it's the Wolverines with how they have been able to run the ball and physically impose their will on Day's teams late in games to seal victories.

The Game will kick off at Noon EST this Saturday on FOX.

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