The 2025 college football season is around the corner. With every program back on the practice field, tension is mounting in the air across the country. If there’s a rivalry that knows no off-days, it’s the one between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Michigan Wolverines. On that note, head coach Ryan Day issued a bold statement, doubling down on Jeremiah Smith’s warning to The Team Up North (TTUN).
Ohio State is coming off a national championship in the 2024 NCAA season, yet there is still one loss from the past season lingering in the Buckeyes’ heads. Coming out on top of ‘The Game’ is as important for both sides as winning the natty.
In that regard, Michigan has held the upper hand over their rivals in Columbus, as the Wolverines have prevailed in the last four meetings. Perhaps, last season’s 13-10 defeat at home against ‘The Team Up North’ was the most disheartening in years for the Buckeyes. On paper, Michigan‘s roster was not at Ohio State’s level, yet the home side felt the pressure and crumbled.
The Buckeyes recovered from the deflating loss and went on to win the national championship, yet the feeling of sorrow hasn’t been forgotten by Smith, Day, and company. Now, the head coach has doubled down on the star wideout’s statement, further warning Michigan.
Take cover
“[Smith is] very, very competitive and he’s not used to losing,” Day admitted, per On3. “We lost the first game against Oregon and he was angry. He wasn’t the only one and certainly for him he expects to win every single game. He expects to win every drill he’s in. That’s just the way he’s wired.
“So, when you ask a question, you’re going to get a genuine response from Jeremiah. And I think the guys feed off of that, and when he tells you something you believe it. There’s no reading between the lines with him. He may not be a man of many words, but when he talks you listen and we’re all listening. He’s the ultimate competitor.”
Smith’s message
After putting on a freshman season for the ages, Smith is determined to take his game to another level—if that’s even possible. One of his biggest goals is to get revenge on the Wolverines, whose win over the Buckeyes left a stain on their college football championship run.
“I’m not a sore loser, but I hate losing, and losing to that team up north was pretty crazy,” Smith told The Athletic. “In the end, I think it really helped us play the way we did in the playoffs. But I didn’t want to go to Ohio State and lose to that team up north. I just hate them. Just something about them. For the next two years, I promise you, I will not lose to them. I can’t lose to them in the next two years.”
End the skid
There’s much more to Smith’s statement than meets the eye. The Buckeyes are currently dragging a four-game losing streak against the Wolverines. Several elite talents have come through Columbus without experiencing a win in The Game. The 19-year-old wide receiver is determined not to be on that list.
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Michigan, for its part, would like to extend its winning streak and give Ohio State a taste of its own medicine. The Buckeyes had won eight straight games from 2012 to 2019, the longest streak in the last 100 years of the rivalry. That streak is only surpassed by Michigan’s nine consecutive wins from 1901 to 1909.