The impossible has now happened, and the unthinkable has now been thought.
No. 2 Ohio State suffered a stunning 13-10 loss to unranked, 6-5 Michigan on Saturday in Columbus. The loss dropped the Buckeyes to 10-2 on the season and, more urgently, 1-4 against Michigan in the Ryan Day era.
The Buckeyes entered Saturday on a much-publicized 3-game losing streak to their bitter rivals and, instead of ending the streak, have now added to it by losing outright as the second-largest series favorite since 1978. Favored to win by 20 points, Ohio State only scored half of that total itself.
To Day's credit and, perhaps, ultimately his downfall, he has not downplayed the importance of The Game. "Nothing that's happened up until this point matters other than what we do in this game," he said earlier this week.
Outside of The Game, Day is 65-6 overall and 45-1 in Big Ten play.
"Everybody wants to win this game in the worst way," Day said when asked about his future at Ohio State. "Nobody wants to win it more than we do. It's our number one goal every year. When you don't, there's disappointment and frustration. I don't blame anybody for being upset. I'm upset more than anybody. Those players are too, the coaches and everybody that goes at it. We know what we're getting ourselves into here."
At 66-10, Day's .868 winning percentage sits in between Urban Meyer (.902) and Jim Tressel (.810). However, Meyer and Tressel were a combined 16-1 against Michigan. Day's career is now fully into John Cooper Territory; Cooper went 111-43-4 overall but just 0-5-1 versus Michigan.
Aside from the buyout with a value reportedly around $37 million, timing would be an issue if Ohio State were to move on from Day.
The Buckeyes are set to sign the No. 3 recruiting class in the country on Wednesday. The transfer portal opens Dec. 9. And even though Saturday's loss likely knocks Ohio State out of the Big Ten Championship, the 10-2 Buckeyes are still locks to make the College Football Playoff, with a first-round game on Dec. 20 or 21. Win that, and Ohio State advances to the quarterfinal round on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day.
Clearly, Plan A was for Ohio State to convert its 3-touchdown favorite status into victory, advance to the B1G title game, and get the maize-and-blue monkey off its back. Plan A did not happen, and now Ohio State must deal with its new reality.