Michigan has broken Ohio State — and only one thing can fix it

COLUMBUS — Ryan Day watched his worst fears realized when Ohio State lost to Michigan in 2021, and four years later he's still letting that loss linger in his head. Now, it might've just cost him his job. Maybe that's hyperbolic and premature given the Buckeyes are still a lock to make the College Football Playoff. But now they might need to win the whole thing to keep it from becoming a real possibility. A road that's made that much harder because the journey now probably starts on the road in a hostile environment. The only person Day and OSU have to blame is themselves. They let that trauma stick around longer than it should've. Because instead of fixing their problems, then getting back on the field with their rival and blowing them off the field, they decided to try to prove a point. And they've failed miserably at proving it. Ohio State was more concerned with proving it could be tough. Proving it could run the ball whenever it wanted. Proving it could out-Michigan, Michigan. Instead, it should've been worrying about itself and doing what it's always been good at. The thing Day got hired for in the first place. Day was once the one dictating the terms of this rivalry. His offense dropped 62 and 56 points in 2018 and 2019. It would've built on that in 2020 had the game not been canceled. But that reality allowed the Wolverines to renegotiate terms with Jim Harbaugh, setting up a brighter future. Michigan flipped the rivalry and stunned the Buckeyes in the process. And they never got over it. Now, the Wolverines continue to live rent-free in OSU's head even with a change of a head coach — and finally validate anyone who already was out on the idea of Day being the leader this program needs. Before Saturday, Day had the excuse that his losses were at least to national championship-caliber Michigan teams who also had the aid of Connor Stalions and a sign-stealing scandal. Those excuses don't exist anymore. Michigan came to Columbus as a 6-5 team with its only goal being to spoil the season of an OSU team that was clearly more talented. It accomplished that goal, officially making the Day era the second coming of the John Cooper era. Is this what Ohio State fans want from its team? Of course not. That might mean Ross Bjork has to have an important conversation six months into his tenure as athletic director. Michigan has officially broken the Buckeyes and it started on a snowy day in Ann Arbor in 2021. It's lingered ever since. It's a failure by this team. A failure by the program. A failure by an era of Buckeyes who have spent their entire careers failing to live up to expectations. There is no excuse for what happened. Ryan Day failed. Again. This roster came back to do what it's done for the past three years. So what happens next could be a fight to save his job.