ANN ARBOR, Michigan – Ryan Day didn’t need to overthink himself to finally snap the four-game skid that had consumed him. He just needed to be himself.

Pressure tends to bring out the best or worst in coaches. For Ohio State, a dangerous mix of those two resulted in a bizarre identity crisis: a four-game losing streak in “The Game” but a 52-1 record against every other Big Ten team.

On Saturday, Day ditched the overcorrections and went back to what works. Michigan had no counter.

“I don’t think there was any doubt when we walked into the stadium what was going to happen,” Day declared after the 27-9 victory.

A year after Ohio State tried to reinvent itself for one opponent and prove a point against Michigan by abandoning a high-flying offense to play bully ball, the coach kept it simple: just be a Buckeye.

Julian Sayin threw howitzers through the air, dropping laser-guided bombs for two incredible touchdown catches by super receivers Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate. Then the Buckeyes went to the ground, bulldozing Michigan and marching through the snow on a single possession to prove a point: these Buckeyes are not just better, they’re bigger and stronger than the Wolverines.

A 20-play drive over the course of 11 minutes, 56 seconds in the second half – easily the longest drive of the season – in the driving snow was more of a statement than any flag panting at midfield would have been.

“We wanted to end the game on our terms,” Sayin said.

Maybe it was that 13-10 loss last year inside a bone-chilling Ohio Stadium that awakened Day. Something flipped. Sixteen straight wins. A national title. Now a 12-0 record after losing 14 players to the NFL Draft. This shouldn’t make sense, but it does at Ohio State.

No team is hotter or better because of Ohio State’s reluctance to stray from a self-determined identity. Eleven straight wins by double digits. A defense for a generation.