Ohio State head coach Ryan Day wants to see freshman Bo Jackson at his best

Bo Jackson is living up to the hype in his freshman season with the Ohio State Buckeyes.

He's showing breakneck speed, a knack for finding the rushing lanes and athleticism that is second to none in the Buckeyes' running back room. Through 10 games in 2025, the freshman running back has taken over the running back room, leading the team with 835 yards and five touchdowns on the ground.

This past weekend against Rutgers, he had argueably his best game as a Buckeye, taking 19 carries for 110 yards and two touchdowns. He also got involved in the passing attack, hauling in one catch for 14 yards.

As the year approaches its conclusion, Ohio State will need to see continued excellence from their young running back.

“Oh yeah, we need Bo [Jackson] to play well, we need him to be at his best like everybody else," head coach Ryan Day said in a press conference this week.

The Buckeyes are preparing to take on the Michigan Wolverines on Saturday, Nov. 29, in the final game of the 2025 regular season. For guys like Jackson, this will be their first chance to experience what the rivalry between Ohio State and Michigan truly entails.

“These are the types of games where legends are born, these guys understand that," said Day. "I think about Chris Olave as a freshman, that year where he blocked a punt and had two touchdowns in that game. His career just took off from there.”

Jackson will have a chance to truly put himself on the map in a game like Saturday's, especially considering the Buckeyes haven't found much success against the team up north in recent years. Last year, the Wolverines took down the Buckeyes in a low-scoring affair, 13-10.

"Clearly, the last four years have not been good enough, we lost the game," Day said. "You have to be critical and figure out ‘Okay, what needs to be better.’”

While there's not doubt on how good Ohio State is, and has been in recent memory, for some reason the program cannot seem to get over the hurdle that is Michigan.

Since the 2021-22 campaign, the Buckeyes have not beaten the Wolverines. Columbus' last win over Ann Arbor came back on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2019. The Buckeyes walked away from that outing with a 56-27 performance.

The offense has been a prominent reason for the Buckeyes' success this year. With the team scoring that many points back in 2019, there is a strong chance for a repeat scenario of a score line like that occurring this year.

Ohio State is still dealing with wideouts Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate being banged up, so they will have to turn to Jackson to be a critical piece of the team's offensive rhythm.

Day trusts the freshman, the only question now is if he's ready to take another step forward and cement himself as one of the best young backs in the nation.