The key numbers behind Ryan Day’s struggles against Michigan

Ohio State coach Ryan Day has a chance this weekend to do something he hasn’t done in six years — beat Michigan.

The No. 1 ranked Buckeyes face the No. 18 Wolverines on Saturday, looking to preserve their undefeated record. It’s the 50th time since the AP Poll debuted in 1936 that both Ohio State and Michigan have been ranked at the time of «The Game,» according to ESPN Research. The Wolverines have a slight lead in the series in ranked matchups at 23-22-4. Luckily for Day, however, they don’t have similar success when facing a No. 1. Michigan is 3-18-1 when facing AP No. 1 opponents, including a 1-3-1 record when Ohio State was the top-ranked team. Overall, the Wolverines are on a nine game losing streak against AP No. 1 opponents.

Even coming off a national championship, Buckeye fans might not feel a sense of total fulfillment until they beat their bitter rivals. Unfortunately for them, that hasn’t been the case under Day.

Here’s a look at the key numbers behind Day’s struggles against Michigan.

Zero: Games are often won in the trenches, and the Buckeyes’ problems against the Wolverines start there. Ohio State has recorded zero sacks in two of its last four games against Michigan (2021 and 2024) — it only had two such games from 1996 to 2019.

In fact, the Buckeyes have recorded only four total sacks in «The Game» during the Day era.

Four: Though the Buckeyes have won a national championship since hiring Day, they’ve also lost four straight against the Wolverines.

The streak seemed like it would end last season when No. 2-ranked Ohio State hosted unranked Michigan. The Buckeyes were favored by 21 points, the widest point spread for this rivalry since 1978, according to ESPN Research, but they were stunned in a 13-10 defeat.

Ohio State hasn’t lost five straight against Michigan since a six-game skid from 1922 to 1927. Its longest losing streak in «The Game» is nine from 1901 to 1909.

Day’s record as Buckeyes coach is a remarkable 81-10 over eight seasons, but he’s just 1-4 against the Wolverines. Therefore, he has a whopping 93% win percentage versus opponents other than Michigan, compared to a 20% rate otherwise.

52: It’s been a completely different offense for Ohio State once it faces its biggest rivals with Day as head coach. The Buckeyes are averaging 52 fewer total yards, 66 rushing yards and one yard per play fewer against the Wolverines as opposed to other opponents.

Even more jarring is that they’ve averaged 13 fewer points — last season’s 10 points in the loss were their fewest in the rivalry game since 1996. It was also Ohio State’s fewest points in a game since the 2011 season.

112: The same differences can be seen on the defensive side.

The Buckeyes defense is allowing 397 total yards per game when facing the Wolverines since 2019 as opposed to 285.4 against other opponents — a 112-yard difference.

ESPN Research contributed to this story.