Fourth-year tight end Cade Stover (8) turns toward a teammate during the Ohio State-Indiana game Nov. 12. Ohio State won 56-14. Credit: Zachary Rilley | Photo Editor
As the clock struck zero on Nov. 27, 2021, the Buckeyes grappled with a reality in which they lost to Michigan for the first time in 10 years.
The Buckeyes had playoff hopes that were crushed by their rival — the Wolverines, who clinched a spot in their first College Football Playoff game since its inception. Michigan would go on to lose to the eventual national champion Georgia Bulldogs 34-11.
The No. 2 Buckeyes are ready to leave the past behind them and take bragging rights back from “The Game” Saturday when the No. 3 Wolverines come to Columbus for the first time since 2018. Head coach Ryan Day said the team is moving on, but it certainly isn’t going to forget what happened last November.
“You’re shaped by whatever has happened in your past, and we have scars,” Day said. “It motivated us all offseason. So, we’ve worked very hard to get to this moment right here. Now it’s time to go prepare the best we can, and that’s what we’re going to focus on physically, mentally and emotionally to go play the hardest game we’ve ever played.”
The theme of what Day had to say Tuesday centered around the idea of toughness.
After the Buckeyes loss last year, Michigan offensive coordinator Josh Gattis said on the “Inside Michigan Football” radio show Nov. 29, 2021, the Wolverines knew they were going to win early in the game, as Ohio State was not a tough team, but “a finesse team.”
Fourth-year tight end Cade Stover said some of the comments from the Michigan side after last year’s game served as motivation for the team this season.
“I really couldn’t give a s*** what anybody else says about our toughness,” Stover said. “I know what we got here and what we got going on with us. What other people say outside of this program doesn’t matter.”
Stover’s thoughts seem to be shared by the rest of the team, but Day said this year, the Buckeyes spent a lot of time on three things: skill, discipline and toughness.
Fourth-year defensive end Zach Harrison said the loss last year prompted the Buckeyes to change the way they prepare, so they could come back and beat the Wolverines Saturday.
“The mentality, the way we work out, the way we lift, the way we run, the way we carry ourselves,” Harrison said. “We realized we have to do more.”
The motivation to win this game for the Buckeyes has not been hard to come by when the Wolverines gave them bulletin board material after the upset last year, adding to the bitterness that already existed between the two teams.
Day said the Buckeyes need to make sure their emotions don’t get the best of them, and they will be looking to find the right balance to play with.
“It is extremely emotional, but you also have to do a job and play a game,” Day said. “If you get overly emotional, and you get caught up in all that then you can start to act out of character, and that can’t happen.”
