Growing up in New Hampshire, Ryan Day had a general idea of the size of Ohio State’s rivalry with Michigan. He remembered great games, feeling the weight of the outcome hundreds of miles away from its epicenter.

But Day remembers when the rivalry became real for him.

In his first year as a co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Ohio State in 2017, Day and his son RJ walked through the front door of the Woody Hayes Athletic Center on his way home, taking a minute and watching the highlight video of 2016 edition of The Game: the double-overtime instant classic, which ended with half-back Curtis Samuel spreading his arms in the end zone — a moment ingrained in the memory of every Ohio State fan.

“I just remember thinking to myself, ‘I just want to be a part of this because it means so much to so many people,’” Day recalls. “I watched this game growing up, watched so many games, watched the game before and just saw what it meant. Instantly, it was just something I wanted to be a part of and be able to enjoy a victory against the Team Up North.”

Day took the bus ride from Columbus to Ann Arbor in 2017 for the first time, instantly seeing The Game in a new light: remembering before the ball was even kicked off that quarterback J.T. Barrett took a shot to his knee, reaggravating an injury he had played through all season, leads to Dwayne Haskins taking charge in the third quarter.

Welcome to the rivalry.

It’s something Ohio State works year-round. It’s one of the Buckeyes’ main talking points in recruiting, telling high school players and their families that the No. 1 goal is to beat “the Team Up North.”

And the rivalry creates rules around the Ohio State football program, something redshirt senior Haskell Garrett remembers having to learn quickly.

“When I first walked into the building, there were no blue pens, you couldn’t wear blue,” Garrett said. “Me, coming from Bishop Gorman, our colors were orange and blue. When I walked in, I had a blue sweatshirt on, and it was immediately taken off.

“(Former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer) really emphasized how much the rivalry is and how much it means to not only us at the university, but the fans as well.”

It’s a rivalry that surpasses all storylines that take players away from solely the Buckeyes taking on the Wolverines.

Yes, the Big Ten East is on the line. Yes, a Big Ten title is on the line. Yes, a spot in the College Football Playoff is on the line. But more importantly, Ohio State has an eight-game win streak on the line against the Wolverines, one that hasn’t been challenged in over 700 days.

For the Buckeyes, this is the season.

It’s a point in the season not many on Ohio State’s roster have been able to experience.

Redshirt senior offensive lineman Thayer Munford is the only member of Ohio State’s roster to have started against Michigan with only 10 of the Buckeyes’ current starters having ever played against the Wolverines.

Center Luke Wypler, right guard Paris Johnson Jr., quarterback C.J. Stroud, running back TreVeyon Henderson, wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, linebacker Cody Simon, safety Ronnie Hickman and cornerback Denzel Burke will each be playing their first games at Michigan Stadium Saturday.

But even if a player has never put pads on and physically faced Michigan, Ohio State defensive end Zach Harrison feels like each one has been well prepared for what it will be like.

“They know,” Harrison said. “As soon as you walk into the building, you know how big this game is. We’re training for it every single day of the offseason. Every single day of the year, we have this game in the back of our mind. It’s finally here.”

But that’s also part of the challenge for Day and the coaching staff.

With The Game coming up, the one that’s been at the back of everyone’s minds constantly Day’s job is to keep his players from riding the roller coaster, keep the players from getting too amped up and distracted from the task at hand: just playing football, continuing to build off the progress the Buckeyes have made over the course of the 2021 season.

“Those guys have not played in The Game, no. There’s a first time for everything,” Day said. “They have to do a great job of preparation, but at the end of the day, they can’t make it bigger than it is. They have to go out there and prepare and do what they have done all season.

That’s all Day wants Stroud to do in his first start against Michigan: just to go out there and do what he’s done all season and have confidence in that.

But to say there isn’t pressure would just be untrue.

There’s the weight of 116 previous editions of The Game looming as Ohio State enters the field through a tiny tunnel surrounded by adversaries above them.

“I truly honestly believe it’s the greatest rivalry in sports,” Garrett said. “This dates back, I’ve had people’s grandparents, great-grandparents talk about this rivalry when Woody Hayes was here and how much this meant. This runs deep, not only in the program, but all of the state of Ohio.”

To Harrison, it doesn’t matter what the record is for either team. It doesn;t matter that Ohio State has won 17-of-19 games against the Wolverines since he’s been alive.

All the Lewis Center, Ohio native knows is that unexplainable feeling that this game brings, dating back to those days where he watched it in his friends’ basement as a fan.

“Explain it? You just have to feel it,” Harrison said.

“It’s a rivalry that’s been here and it’ll always be here. It’s our job to continue that legacy.”