Has Ohio State football coach ever lost five straight vs Michigan? What to know
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With college football’s annual Rivalry Week finally here, Ohio State finally has an opportunity to earn a win that has eluded the Buckeyes since 2019.
That, of course, would be against Michigan, a team that has vexed Ryan Day and Co. for four seasons.
It’s a rivalry that Ohio State had dominated for much of the 21st century: The Buckeyes won eight straight against the Wolverines under Urban Meyer from 2012-19, and also enjoyed a seven-game unbeaten streak from 2004-10 under Jim Tressel. It was interrupted only by a 40-34 Michigan win in 2011, a season in which Ohio State went 6-7.
Despite his consistent success and championship pedigree, however, Day has struggled to lead the Buckeyes past that all-important foe in Michigan.
The loss dropped the Buckeyes from Big Ten championship contention, forced them to become an 8-seed in the College Football Playoff and prompted a heated team meeting before the Buckeyes won four consecutive games en route to the program’s first national title in a decade.
Now, Day is one loss away from matching a historic losing streak in the history of “The Game.” Here’s what to know about Day’s record against the Wolverines:
Has an Ohio State coach lost vs Michigan five consecutive times?
Only one Ohio State football coach has lost five or more consecutive games vs. Michigan: Former Buckeyes coach John Wilce, who led the Buckeyes from 1913 through 1928 — a stretch that included six straight defeats to the Wolverines from 1922 through 1927.
Another coach, John Cooper, has a comparable stretch vs. Michigan, failing to beat the Wolverines for a six-year stretch from 1988 through 1993. However, a 13-13 tie in 1992 kept Cooper at “just” a four-game losing streak against the Wolverines. Ohio State also dropped three straight games vs. Michigan under Cooper from 1995 to 1997, and lost two more in 1999 and 2000. Cooper had a 2-10-1 record against Michigan in his 13 seasons in Columbus.
Day in 2024 joined Wilce, Cooper and A. E. Herrnstein (1906-09) as the only coaches with four straight losses against Michigan after the Wolverines upset the Buckeyes 13-10 for their fourth consecutive loss in the rivalry.
Longest losing streaks for an Ohio State football coach in ‘The Game’ against Michigan
Wilce owns the longest losing streak for an Ohio State coach against Michigan at six games. The Buckeyes ended their six-game stretch, which started in 1922, with a 19-7 win over the Wolverines in 1928. Ohio State went 4-8 overall in “The Game” under Wilce.
Last year’s loss to Michigan made Day one of four Ohio State coaches to drop four consecutive games to the Wolverines, with the others being Herrnstein, Wilce and Cooper.
Here’s a look at the longest losing skids among Ohio State coaches against Michigan:
- Six games: John Wilce (1922-27)
- Four games: A.E. Herrnstein (1906-09) | John Cooper (1988-91) | Ryan Day (2021-present)
- Three games: Francis Schmidt (1938-40) | Woody Hayes (1976-78) | John Cooper (1995-97)
Ryan Day record vs Michigan
- Record vs. Michigan: 1-4
Ohio State has struggled against Michigan during Day’s tenure in Columbus. The Buckeyes enter the 2025 edition of “The Game” with a 1-4 record against their Big Ten rival under Day.
Here’s a game-by-game look at how Ohio State has fared against Michigan under Day:
- 2019: Ohio State 56, Michigan 27
- 2020: Canceled due to COVID-19
- 2021: Michigan 42, Ohio State 27
- 2022: Michigan 45, Ohio State 23
- 2023: Michigan 30, Ohio State 24
- 2024: Michigan 13, Ohio State 10
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State’s Ryan Day hoping to avoid historic loss vs Michigan
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