In the wake of Ohio State’s heart-wrenching 13-10 loss to Michigan on Saturday, Ohio State Athletic Director Ross Bjork is fully backing Ryan Day as the future of the program. Despite the fact that the loss marked Day’s fourth consecutive defeat to Michigan, Bjork has made it clear that Day retains the full support of the university and is still the right coach to lead the Buckeyes moving forward.
In an interview with The Columbus Dispatch on Sunday, Bjork acknowledged the disappointment of the rivalry loss but emphasized that the immediate focus should be on Ohio State’s potential to make a strong run in the College Football Playoff. “Our full focus right now is on the College Football Playoff and making a strong run,” Bjork said. “We have a ton to play for. We have a great team made up of talented players and great young men. Coach Day does a great job leading our program. He's our coach.”
Ross Bjork continued to express confidence in the stability of the program under Day’s leadership, highlighting Ohio State’s consistent performance in the top five rankings. “There’s a ton of stability across the board within the program,” Bjork stated. “We’re always in the top five under his leadership. We’re right there. We have great fan support, great donor support.”
The athletic director acknowledged that the reasons behind the team’s struggles in the rivalry game would eventually be analyzed but emphasized that right now, the focus should be on the goals ahead. “There’s going to be plenty of time to dissect what happened in the rivalry game the last couple years,” Bjork said. “But right now, we have to keep the main thing the main thing, and that’s focus on the values of the program, focus on why we lead the young men, focus on the mission and the playoff.”
While the loss to Michigan was a tough blow, Ross Bjork remains firm in his belief that Ryan Day has set the program up for long-term success. “Our program is built to last, and coach Day has done that. He has put us in a great spot,” he added. “We’re disappointed, but he’s our coach.”
When asked about concerns over whether Ryan Day had lost the support of fans and donors, Bjork responded confidently, noting that Day understands the pressure and the passionate reactions from Ohio State’s fanbase. “Coach acknowledged after the game that he gets it,” Bjork said. “He gets the reaction. He gets the intensity of this game in particular. He gets the feedback and the pushback. Some of the things that happened to him personally are uncalled for. We don’t have to get into that part of it. But we get what we signed up for, so he acknowledges that.”
As Ohio State now shifts its focus to the College Football Playoff, Ross Bjork’s message is clear: the Buckeyes are still in contention for a championship, and the focus remains on moving forward. “Let’s go make a run in the playoff,” Bjork concluded. “That’s all I’m going to say. Let’s go make a run in the playoff. That’s what we’ve got to do.”
