COLUMBUS, Ohio – First came the screaming, writhing figure of linebacker Sonny Styles, who ran away from the hubbub at midfield, his helmet off and his eyes glowing with pain Ohio StateThe employees shouted wildly for medical help. “I can’t see!” Styles roared before collapsing on the grass. “I can’t see!” And from then on, the sounds his body made became much throatier. Then came Hero Kanu, a hulking 6-foot-4, 300-pound defensive tackle, stumbling toward the tunnel, his face red and tense from the police gun that had been fired near him. “Find a trainer!” someone shouted, their voice shaking with fear. “Trainer!” He yelled again at anyone who would listen.

A few feet from the makeshift triage, head coach Ryan Day sat with his mouth slightly open and a depressing blankness on his face in the midst of one of the ugliest postgame scenes this rivalry has ever seen. As he left the field, he was met with a barrage of unflattering comments: “Hey Ryan, I hope you’ve got your next job lined up,” one fan shouted. “This is undoubtedly your last day,” another added. “F— you, Ryan, I’m done,” said another — as a roar from so many of the 106,005 fans remaining at Ohio Stadium suggested trouble was brewing somewhere behind him.

On the logo at midfield, numerous Michigan players celebrated their 13-10 victory over the Buckeyes by attempting to raise their flag, just as the Wolverines did two years ago when they last won here. Day’s players took offense at the gesture and intruded on the celebratory performance. Edge rusher Jack Sawyer, a former five-star recruit from Pickerington, Ohio, ripped the blue Michigan flag from the pole and threw it to the ground. Reserve cornerback Miles Lockhart rammed Michigan radio analyst Jason Avant, who played wide receiver for the Wolverines from 2002 to 2005, as Avant snatched the flag from Buckeyes defensive back Davison Igbinosun. Dozens more were involved as the shouting turned into shoving and the shoving turned into punching. Eventually, dozens of police officers entered the fray, with at least one of them spraying pepper spray into the eyes of both Wolverine and Buckeye. The air thickened with chemicals.

“You won’t put a flag on our field again, bro!” Sawyer screamed in the face of an Ohio State University employee who tried to calm him down. “F— that’s—, man. F— these guys. Put a flag on our field? F— you!”

The scene with Sawyer took place at arm’s length from Day, who stood motionless at the 24-yard line as if paralyzed by disbelief at suffering another loss to The Team Up North, his fourth in a row after debuted with back-to-back wins over former Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh. That the Wolverines entered Saturday’s game as 19.5-point underdogs made their victory the biggest upset in this rivalry since at least 1978, which goes back as far as historical point-spread data goes. It was only the second time in the series that an unranked Michigan team defeated a ranked Ohio State on the road, and the first such occurrence since 1950. And for Day, whose Buckeyes have now won multiple Big Tens games lost in the same season for the first time since 2011, reaching the nadir of otherwise successful Ohio State coaches by tying John Cooper’s mark of four straight losses to the Wolverines.

Perhaps the only saving grace for Day and his team – at least temporarily – is that with a record of 10-2 overall and 7-2 in the league, they will likely still qualify for the expanded College Football Playoff, and that means they still have a chance to win a national championship. The challenge will be finding ways to regroup and refocus as Ohio State’s season is truly “hit or bust,” although probably not in the way that cornerback Denzel Burke has it introduced himself when he first made that comment during spring training. The reality now is that despite his sparkling career record of 66-10, Day could actually end up on the hot seat if his Buckeyes don’t win the national title.

“We are very disappointed,” Day said. “I never thought this would happen here. We expect to win this game and then play in the Big Ten Championship Game, and none of that happened. We don’t know what’s going on now. “It’s just too early.” I’m trying to figure out what’s next. But once we have more information (from the selection committee) in about a week, we’ll get that part together soon and talk to a lot of people who are really devastated right now.”

Perhaps none more so than Day himself, for whom this rivalry continues to take a significant personal toll. There was the snide comment from Harbaugh pointing out that Day was “born at third base” because he inherited the job at Ohio State from former coach Urban Meyer. A defensive implosion occurred at Michigan Stadium in 2021, prompting Day to leave coordinator Kerry Coombs and replace him with Oklahoma State’s Jim Knowles. There was the sign-stealing scandal surrounding former Michigan employee Connor Stalions, in which videos appeared to show the Wolverines had unusually detailed knowledge of Ohio State’s signals during the 2022 game. There were conspiracy theories on the forum falsely linking Day’s brother to the Big Ten’s investigation into Michigan, which in itself led to threats against the family. There have been stories about whether Day made a mistake by signing quarterback Kyle McCord instead of JJ McCarthy, who was eager to attend Ohio State early in his recruitment. Earlier this year, his longtime running backs coach Tony Alford moved to Michigan. Last November saw the loss to interim coach Sherrone Moore while Harbaugh was serving a league-imposed suspension.

All of which explains why a snippet from one of Day’s interviews leading up to Saturday’s game went viral, when he declared that the loss to Michigan was “honestly, one of the worst things that’s happened to me in my life – other than the loss.” “. my father and a few other things. The impact of failing to beat the Wolverines in three straight seasons, including a 2023 season in which Harbaugh and Michigan won the national championship trophy, had shaken Day to his core.

“I feel for Coach Day,” quarterback Will Howard said.

And much of what happened Saturday felt like a microcosm of the rivalry’s ongoing tilt toward Michigan, not seen since a stretch from 1988 to 1991, when legendary head coach Bo Schembechler retired and replaced Gary Moeller He had won four times in a row against Ohio State. It was the fourth time in the last four years that the Wolverines outrebounded Ohio State on the ground, this time by a 172-77 margin, with Kalel Mullings (32 carries, 116 yards, 1 TD) leading the way over time The game seemed to get stronger as the game progressed. It was the third time in the last three years that a highly touted Buckeye quarterback threw costly interceptions at inopportune moments: two to CJ Stroud in 2022; two for McCord in 2023; two for Howard in 2024, which will only lead to more questions from Day about another hand-picked signal-caller, this time a transfer from Kansas State. And it was the second time in the last two years that Michigan made all of its field goals – including at least one shot over 50 yards in each game – while Ohio State kicker Jayden Fielding missed three of his five attempts in that span, two This came about on Saturday in a competition that was decided by three points.

But the coup de grace for Day may have been Mullings’ game-winning run with less than four minutes left and the score tied at 10-10. Facing third-and-six from Ohio State’s 44-yard line, Mullings was contacted several yards behind the line of scrimmage by defensive tackle Ty Hamilton, a 295-pound senior who had never seen the Wolverines hit. And yet, Mullings somehow managed to break free around the right side of Michigan’s formation. He stuck an arm into the turf for balance and then scored a 27-yard gain that set up the game-winning field goal with 45 minutes left.

“It’s not easy to accept,” Day said. “Of course I have to take responsibility. Ultimately, I am the one who makes the final decisions. I felt like we were in a really good position going into this game. I felt like we were prepared to play well in that game.”

That Mullings rumbled to the same end of the stadium where fellow tailback Donovan Edwards once sliced ​​through Ohio State’s defense for a rivalry-deciding touchdown in 2022 felt somewhat poetic. It may have been two years since then, but Saturday’s result suggests not much has changed in the series. Day could only watch as Michigan raised another flag in the middle of Ohio Stadium and a wild scuffle ensued.

He had lost The Game, he had lost his team, and now he may need a national championship to ensure he comes back next season.

Michael Cohen covers college football and basketball with a focus on the Big Ten for FOX Sports. Follow him at @Michael_Cohen13.

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