The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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66 THE WOLVERINE ❱ JANUARY 2025 T he stunned silence in front of the Ohio Sta- dium press box elevators of fans, media, administrators and others — mostly dressed in red — wasn't limited to those with OSU ties when we made our way to the postgame press conference following Michi- gan's 13-10 win over the Buck- eyes. The Nov. 30 shocker liter- ally left most of us speechless. All we could do was shrug and shake our heads at our Buckeye colleagues in empathy, know- ing what they were dealing with after a fourth straight loss in a rivalry that's become more an unhealthy obsession than a football game in Columbus. No, Michigan fans didn't take losing eight in a row and 15 out of 16 very well during the Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer years, but the reaction was more one of resignation than disgust, for the most part. The reality here "up north" is that self-worth doesn't depend on the out- come of a game, no matter how big the rivalry. There was legit seething among those in scarlet, though — uncomfort- able in a way, humorous in another. When the door closed on the packed elevator preceding ours, one hulking figure in the back caught our eye: 1997 captain, All-American and Michigan legend Jon Jansen, now Michigan's color commentator on the radio broadcast. He broke into a huge smile when he saw us, gave us a wink as the doors closed, and then turned to begin a conversation with the man next to him … none other than former OSU head coach John "2- 10-1 against that team up north" Coo- per, whom Jansen and Co. beat three straight times during the offensive line- man's playing days. "They were talking about how quickly things had changed," one OSU colleague recalled of the ride down. "At one point, Jansen said, 'These things happen,' or something like that, and 'You know how it is.' And [Cooper] laughed and said, 'Oh, yeah — I definitely know how it is.'" That elicited a "Too soon, Coop" look from a few in the cramped quarters, he recalled, especially as reality set in that they'd have to wait another 364 days to get their shot at redemption after a fourth straight loss. As we write this, it's been 1,844 days since the Buckeyes last beat Michigan, and if their " best team money could buy" couldn't do it … well, will next year's matchup be any different, espe- cially with The Game in Ann Arbor? Nobody knows yet what the two teams will look like next year, but we do know Ryan Day will likely be on the sidelines for the Buckeyes, and the pressure on him will be immense. This Michigan loss eviscerated every excuse he'd used over the last several years, from flu and weather to the sign- stealing "scandal," and even the lunatic fringe (minus one tiny group of cult- ish holdouts) finally got it. They turned their ire to their head coach who in re- sponse — believe it or not — doubled down again in a local interview prior to his team's playoff game with Tennessee. "We're in a different era. It's a different time," Day said on a local TV interview on WBNS. "We're in the playoffs. Other teams [implying Michigan] aren't. That's the way it goes … not that it's ever going to change The Game. It's not go- ing to. But we're in the playoffs, and that's all we know right now." That's all he knows, maybe. But no matter what happens in the playoffs, even with an un- likely run to a national champi- onship, this fan base will never forgive him for the last four seasons. "Beating Michigan is prob- ably 90 percent of the job," one fan on an OSU message board wrote, and everyone agreed. In an impromptu TV interview poll of fans before the Michi- gan game, when asked what was more important, all but one picked beating the Wolverines over a national title. "I'd take that 20 times out of 20," one said. But only one is still an option, and as USA Today proclaimed in a recent headline, "Ryan Day, Ohio State [are] facing disaster or finest hour in Col- lege Football Playoff." With temps in Columbus slated for the 20s at kickoff versus the Vols Dec. 21 and the wind- chill factor making it feel even colder, we know which way we'll be betting, and it won't be on Day and his marsh- mallow soft bunch. That's especially true if he brings the Michigan game plan with him. But we will be rooting for him for a game or two, anyway, hoping he doesn't jeopardize his employment. We're really getting fond of this new reality, after all. It's the Cooper years all over again, and we're enjoying every minute. ❑ Ryan Day and his Ohio State team have lost to Michigan for four con- secutive years, reminiscent of the John Cooper era when OSU went 2-10-1 versus the Wolverines from 1988-2000. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN Chris Balas has been with The Wolverine since 1997. Contact him at cbalas@ thewolverine.com and follow him on X (Twitter) @Balas _ Wolverine. INSIDE MICHIGAN ❱ CHRIS BALAS Déjà Coop All Over Again