Michigan football: Jim Harbaugh responds to Ryan Day’s schedule comments

INDIANAPOLIS, IN. — Yesterday, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day explained that he believes the Big Ten should talk about rescheduling the Michigan-Ohio State game, potentially moving it from the final weekend of the season. This afternoon, Michigan football head coach Jim Harbaugh had the opportunity to respond during Big Ten Media Day.

What did Ohio State head coach Ryan Day say about the U-M vs. OSU game yesterday?

Here are Ryan Day’s comments from yesterday’s Big Ten press conference on the scheduling of Michigan football vs. Ohio State.

“I know one of the goals was to try to get as many teams as possible in the playoffs,” OSU coach Ryan Day said at Big Ten Media Day on Wednesday. “When you’re looking at that, you want to have certain teams you play on a yearly basis,” Day said. “At the same time, you also want to do the best you can to get as many guys into the playoffs.

“People see it from different points of view,” Day said. “I’m glad we still have the rivalry game. I do think we should consider when we play it, just because you may end up playing it back-to-back weeks … which would be awkward.

“I know we need to consider the tradition, but I think it’s worth a conversation on when. I think that’s significant just on how the season plays out. Other than that, I think they did the best they could with it. The good news is they didn’t build a schedule that is locked in or a long period of time. I think they can do this for a couple of years, reevaluate, and then have the flexibility to change it up if needed.

“… We’ve got to play ‘The Game’ every year,” Day added. “Where it is, I think it’s worth a long discussion about where that game should be placed. If it was the same way as it was this past year, we’d be playing back-to-back games and who knows? Maybe even playing again in the playoffs. I just think that needs to be taken into consideration … I know they’re talking about it, I just don’t think any hard decisions have been made, and I don’t think they’re going to be made here real soon. I just want to be part of those conversations.”

Michigan football head coach Jim Harbaugh responds at Big Ten Media this afternoon

When asked about the scheduling of Michigan football vs. Ohio State, here is what Jim Harbaugh had to say.

“We’ll play that whenever it’s scheduled to be played,” Harbaugh said. “We know we’re going to play it every season at least once. I don’t have a particular opinion of when it should be played. But right now, I think everybody’s used to that. It’s part of the Thanksgiving tradition now. That’s when we’ll expect it.”

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