It was Ryan Day's team as soon as the Rose Bowl ended.
That meant when the championship rings and Gold Pants charms were delivered to the Woody Hayes Athletic Center in April, the winning coach from last season was there as a visitor.
The last time an Ohio State coach who had beaten Michigan was not presiding over his team the following spring was 31 years ago, when Earle Bruce was a resident of Cedar Falls and busy preparing for his only season at Northern Iowa.
This time around, the winning coach was still a resident of Columbus.