Ryan Day says moving Ohio State-Michigan to earlier in season worth discussion
INDIANAPOLIS — Ryan Day said Wednesday that he’s open to moving Ohio State’s annual rivalry football game with Michigan to earlier in the season.
“It’s worth a long discussion on where that game should be placed,” the Buckeyes’ coach said at Big Ten media days.
Such a step would be a dramatic one for “The Game,” which has been a late November fixture for almost a century. The Buckeyes and Wolverines have met at the end of the regular season since 1935.
But the Big Ten’s elimination of its East and West divisions, a move that was announced last month and takes effect next year, also brings significant change for the rivals.
The league’s championship game in 2024 will begin matching up the teams with the best conference records rather than the division winners, creating a format that allows for a rematch between Ohio State and Michigan after they had been a part of the East Division for a decade.
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Had the Big Ten been division-less last fall, a second meeting would have followed on the first weekend in December after the Buckeyes had lost the previous week.
Day said the possibility of playing the Wolverines in consecutive weeks would be “awkward” and also potentially diminish some of the stakes of the clash.
“The game could not have an impact on a whole bunch,” Day said. “If both teams are in the Big Ten championship game already, then could it minimize the game? That’s my concern. Even if we play it Week 9 or 10, no matter what, it’s going to matter.”
Day stopped well short of endorsing rescheduling the rivalry to an earlier point on the calendar, but stressed that it should remain under discussion.
"I know that we need to consider the tradition," he said, "but it’s worth a conversation."
His comments echo similar ones made last year by Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith, who said he wasn’t firm on the rivalry with Michigan being played at the end of the regular season.
The Buckeyes and Wolverines are protected rivals under the Big Ten’s newly formed scheduling model and will meet at the end of the regular season next year and in 2025. But schedules have not been set beyond that.
“I know they’re talking about it,” Day said. “I just don’t think any hard decisions have been made, and I don’t think they’re going to be made real soon. I just want to be a part of those conversations.”
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Contact him at jkaufman@dispatch.com or on Twitter @joeyrkaufman.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State football coach Ryan Day open to moving up Michigan game
