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Ohio State coach Ryan Day still has scars from last year’s loss to the Michigan Wolverines, and it has motivated the Buckeyes all season to make sure this season doesn’t end in similar fashion.

“I think you’re shaped by whatever’s happened in your past, and we have scars and it motivated us all offseason,” Day said. “So we’ve worked very hard to get to this moment right here, and now it’s time to go to go prepare the best we can and that’s what we’re going to focus on physically, mentally and emotionally to go play the hardest game we’ve ever played. And we’ll find out where we’re at on Saturday.”

The No. 2 Buckeyes (11-0) host No. 3 Michigan (11-0) on Saturday, with the winner moving on to the Big Ten Championship game and likely to the College Football Playoff. It is the 12th time that the rivals have met with both ranked in the top 5.

The extra emotion tied to this game can sometimes cause unnecessary distractions and disrupt preparation, but Day said his team has been locked in and focused, partially because of how the Buckeyes felt from last season’s loss.

“I think you start talking about some of those other things, you can get distracted on what the most important thing is right now,” Day said Tuesday. “I think when you’re playing an emotional game and a big game like this, the easiest thing to do is say, ‘Let’s just get to Saturday. Let me just get to the game.’ But we have to utilize every single minute.

“We have that countdown in our building, and every time a minute clicks off of that is one less minute for you to prepare for the game. So let’s utilize every single minute we have to get ready to go.”

The countdown is slowly ticking toward Saturday and the entire season is on the line for both programs.

It was reported that Day had privately said his team would hang 100 points on Michigan. After the Wolverines won last season, then-offensive coordinator Josh Gattis said the Buckeyes were “a finesse team; not a tough team.”

“I really don’t give a s— what anyone outside this program says about our toughness,” Buckeyes tight end Cade Stover said Tuesday. “We know what we’ve got.”

Day and Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, however, have not provided any bulletin board material this season.

Harbaugh said there is no hate, and his team is just grateful to be in this position. Day said there will naturally be friction, but that he and his team are just focused on what will happen on the field and figuring out ways to stay undefeated.

“I’m not going to talk about it right now,” Day said. “Maybe there’s another time to hit on that. But like I said, there’s certain things you listen to, there’s certain things you don’t. And any time you’re in a high-profile game with a lot of stuff going on, there’s a lot of things said.

“But there’s a time and a place to talk about that, and it’s not now.”

The Buckeyes are hoping the time and place is after they win Saturday, so they don’t have to experience the feeling of another loss for the next year.

“Our guys know they felt the pain last year and let it simmer,” Day said. “And we had to chew on that for a whole year, and it’s a long time. So we’ll see the corrections we made, we’ll see about the growth that we’ve made and find out who we are on Saturday.”

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Auburn’s Freeze diagnosed with prostate cancer

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Auburn's Freeze diagnosed with prostate cancer

Auburn football coach Hugh Freeze was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer and is expected to make a full recovery after doctors detected the disease in its early stages, the school announced Friday.

Freeze, 55, will continue coaching the Tigers while receiving treatment, Auburn officials said in a statement.

“Recently, Coach Freeze was diagnosed with an early form of prostate cancer,” the statement said. “Thankfully, it was detected early and his doctors have advised that it is very treatable and curable. He will continue his normal coaching duties and responsibilities, and with forthcoming proper treatment, is expected to make a full recovery.

“Coach Freeze is incredibly appreciative of our medical professionals and has asked that we use his experience as a reminder of the importance of prioritizing and scheduling annual health screenings.”

The Tigers are scheduled to start spring practice March 25.

Freeze’s teams went 11-14 (5-11 SEC) in his first two seasons, including a 5-7 campaign in 2024. With the additions of transfer quarterback Jackson Arnold (Oklahoma), wide receivers Eric Singleton Jr. (Georgia Tech) and Horatio Fields (Wake Forest), offensive tackle Xavier Chaplin (Virginia Tech), and others, the Tigers are expected to be much improved this coming season.

At Liberty, Freeze coached from a hospital bed set up in the coaches’ box during the Flames’ 24-0 loss to Syracuse in his debut on Aug. 31, 2019. Freeze was recovering from surgery for a herniated disk in his back and a staph infection.

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Iowa State gives AD Pollard 5-year extension

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Iowa State gives AD Pollard 5-year extension

AMES, Iowa — Jamie Pollard, the Iowa State athletic director since 2005, has received a five-year contract extension through 2030, the university announced Friday.

The Cyclones have had unprecedented success in the major sports in 2024-25. The football team had its first 11-win season and the ninth-ranked men’s basketball team has been in the top 10 all season and achieved its highest ranking since 1956-57 when it reached No. 3 in December.

Terms of Pollard’s contract will be announced later, the school said.

“I am humbled to have had the opportunity to lead our athletics program for the past 20 years,” said Pollard, who thanked the administration for its support. “We have an amazing culture in our athletics program, led by our talented and dedicated coaches and staff. Although our industry is undergoing transformational change, I am confident our department will successfully embrace these challenges with the same energy and urgency that has proven to be successful in the past.”

Pollard, the nation’s third-longest serving Power 4 athletic director, has overseen $340 million in new construction and facility renovations. Since 2011-12, and excluding the 2020-21 pandemic year, ISU is the only school in the nation to have average attendances over 50,000 in football, 12,000 in men’s basketball and 9,000 in women’s basketball.

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Bowling Green’s Loeffler takes QB job with Eagles

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Bowling Green's Loeffler takes QB job with Eagles

Bowling Green coach Scot Loeffler is leaving the school after six seasons to become quarterbacks coach of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Loeffler, 50, went 27-41 at Bowling Green but led the Falcons to bowl appearances in each of the past three seasons, posting a 16-10 record in MAC play during the span.

He will replace Doug Nussmeier, who left the Eagles with Kellen Moore to become the New Orleans Saints‘ offensive coordinator. Loeffler will work under new Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, who had been the team’s passing game coordinator and associate head coach.

“Scot has been dedicated to not only BGSU Football, but to all our student-athletes and BGSU Athletics, as well as our Falcon Marching Band and spirit programs,” university president Rodney Rogers said in a statement. “He cares deeply about player development and student success, and we wish him all the best as he continues his coaching career in the NFL with the Super Bowl-winning Philadelphia Eagles.”

Loeffler returns to the NFL for the first time since 2008, when he coached quarterbacks for the Detroit Lions. A former Michigan quarterback, Loeffler coached QBs at his alma mater from 2002 to 2007 and also with Central Michigan and Florida. He first became an offensive coordinator with Temple in 2011 and made coordinator stops with Auburn, Virginia Tech and Boston College before landing his first head-coaching opportunity at Bowling Green.

The coaching change means Bowling Green players now have a 30-day window to enter the NCAA transfer portal. The Falcons had already lost three All-MAC performers to the portal in December in running back Terion Stewart (Virginia Tech), offensive tackle Alex Wollschlaeger (Kentucky) and linebacker Joseph Sipp Jr. (Kansas). Bowling Green also is losing record-setting tight end Harold Fannin Jr. to the NFL draft.

Athletic director Derek van der Merwe will lead the search for Loeffler’s replacement. In a statement, Van der Merwe praised Loeffler for building “a very successful program in a challenging climate in collegiate sports.

“I am looking forward to this process of finding the next great leader for our program who embraces what it means to be a Falcon,” Van der Merwe added.

ESPN’s Max Olson contributed to this report.

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