Ohio
Did changes to Michigan week routine help Ohio State end rivalry skid?
Before Ohio State snapped a four-game losing streak to archrival Michigan with a 27-9 win on Nov. 29, it made a series of changes to the week of preparation.
It began with moving the marching band’s visit to practice to an idle week in October to taking a flight to Ann Arbor. The Buckeyes had ridden busses to southeast Michigan unlike most of their destinations in the Big Ten.
Buckeyes coach Ryan Day sought for the leadup to The Game to mirror a typical week in the regular season. The stakes of the rivalry had been high enough for his players.
“You want to make sure you’re doing everything you can to keep the routine the routine,” Day said. “There’s enough emotion that goes into that game. I felt like that was important.”
It wasn’t the first time Day had tinkered with the script to Michigan week, which has included the Thanksgiving holiday since 2010. In 2022, he pushed back Senior Tackle, the tradition in practice in which seniors hit a blocking sled for the last time, to the postseason.
But this year’s changes were the most significant as Day weighed the makeup of his team and their recent setbacks in the rivalry.
The stunning upset loss to the Wolverines last season marked a tipping point as they made adjustments off the field to a week that never lacked for festivities.
“There were just a lot of things that were different and may have thrown us off on our routine,” Day said. “We’re a routine-oriented culture, and I felt like it was the best thing to do. Was that the difference in the end? Who knows. But everything matters.”
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Email him at jkaufman@dispatch.com and follow along on Bluesky, Instagram and X for more.