Does Ryan Day Respect The Michigan Football Rivalry?

On Tuesday, ahead of this weekend’s Ohio State-Michigan football rivalry matchup at the Big House in Ann Arbor, MI, Buckeye head coach Ryan Day had a chance to evaluate where things stand in “The Game” as far as respect goes. While Day did not comment on his respect for Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines directly, he explained that OSU continues to have immense respect for the rivalry itself, prepping year-round for it and more.

Ohio State-Michigan football rivalry matchup is massive this fall

This year’s matchup between Michigan football and Ohio State means more than any other game in recent history. The narratives, the stakes, and more are all lining up to make this Saturday a colossal 11-0 vs. 11-0, No. 2 vs. No. 3 matchup that will largely determine this year’s Big Ten Champion and the conference’s College Football Playoff representative.

Ryan Day shares thoughts

Even without Jim Harbaugh on the sidelines, Michigan football seems ready to win a third-straight game against Ohio State, though Rydan Day made it clear that his Buckeyes are coming into Ann Arbor with the same mentality on Saturday. Below is some of what the Ohio State coach said about the OSU-Michigan football rivalry ahead of this weekend’s historic top-3 battle.

“The way that I was taught to respect a rivalry is to work it every day,” Ryan Day said on Tuesday, per Eleven Warriors. “Whether it’s in the weight room, whether that’s game planning, talking to your players, periods in practice during the spring, or periods of practice in preseason. And that’s it. And so we do — we respect the rivalry (with Michigan), and certainly excited to play (the Wolverines) on Saturday.”

Jim Harbaugh shares thoughts

On Monday, Jim Harbaugh was asked a similar question and gave somewhat of a similar non-answer when talking directly about the Buckeyes’ staff and Ryan Day. Below is what Jim Harbaugh said, though the gist is that he is focused on nothing more than beating Ohio State this weekend and advancing to the team’s next goal: winning the Big Ten.

“It’s all about our preparation for Ohio (State),” Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh said Monday. “You know, the days, the minutes, the hours, everything leading up to this game. You know, that’s where our focus is. Preparing ourselves, planning, going to practice and then executing. So I mean, anything else is irrelevant when you get into this kind of big game week.”

Jim Harbaugh was asked about his respect level for Ryan Day and the OSU coaching staff.

Make of this what you will… pic.twitter.com/1gLvyjmDOi

— CJ Mangum (@cjmangum_) November 20, 2023

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