by It’s one the greatest rivalries in all of sports. To some, it’s more important than life and death. It’s pure, old-fashioned hate. It’s a 60-minute fist fight. It’s a war. It’s “The Game.”
However, throughout the 119-year-old rivalry, there hasn’t traditionally been sheer hate between the two coaches on either sideline opposed to what is seen between the white lines and amongst the two fanbases.
Take, for instance, the greats Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler who were actually widely know to be close friends.
Jim Tressel and Lloyd Carr had a very professional relationship mainly due to their mutual understanding of the immense pressure that the head coaches of each program face in the rivalry.
Urban Meyer and Harbaugh, the two coaches who were born at the same Toledo hospital, even had a mutual respect and no known hatred for each other. Meyer was once even quoted saying, “He (Harbaugh) called me when one of his former coaches was very ill and we wanted to honor him before the Ohio State game. He’s a very genuine person.”
Then there’s Day and Harbaugh.
The hatred blossomed in 2017 when Day first stepped foot in Columbus and was hired as Ohio State’s OC. Then the rest was history…
2019: Ryan Day takes over as head man and clobbers Michigan 56-27 behind monster days from Justin Fields and J.K. Dobbins. Harbaugh is now at an all-time low in his tenure at UM and falls to 0-5 against the Buckeyes.
2020: Harbaugh reportedly accuses Day of providing bad “on-field instruction” to his team, in which Day clapped back saying, “why don’t you worry about your own team.” Before the game gets cancelled due to COVID, Day proceeded to state this:
2021: Harbaugh makes several structural changes in Ann Arbor as he fires several notable assistants in the offseason. Michigan eventually gets the monkey off its back and dominates OSU 42-27 to reinstill the competitiveness of the rivalry. Harbaugh also stated this famous quote:
2022: Harbaugh describes OSU as “a finesse team, not a tough team” following the 2021 blowout. Day constantly mentions the importance of “toughness” within his program to the media. Michigan makes it back-to-back, dominating the Buckeyes 45-23 as Harbaugh continues to live rent free in Day’s head. Harbaugh gains momentum while Day drops to 1-2 against him as HC.
2023: Easily the most dramatic build up to a game out of them all. Connor Stallions, Day’s younger brother supposedly having a connection to one of the two investigators, Harbaugh’s suspension(s), Michigan’s “Us Against the World” mentality, Ohio State losing two straight, obvious playoff implications, and even greater disgust between these two coaches and football cultures.
As college football fans, this mutual hostility is exactly what we want. The growing hatred between Day and Harbaugh adds more unique flavor to this legendary rivalry and is one of the many reasons this Saturday’s showdown just may be one of the most intense games in living memory.
Hail to the victors! I can’t wait.
