On Saturday, the Ohio State Buckeyes kicked off their 2026 college football season with a matchup against the Ball State Cardinals in Week 1 at Ohio Stadium.
While the Buckeyes secured a dominant 56-3 win over the Cardinals, a decision that head coach Ryan Day says originated with the administration caught flak from some Michigan fans.
Michigan Fans and Dave Portnoy Grill Ohio State for Senior Day Move
This season, the Buckeyes decided to celebrate their Senior Day in Week 1 instead of in November during their last home game against Michigan.
Barstool Sports founder (and Michigan superfan) Dave Portnoy and several other Wolverines fans trolled the Buckeyes’ decision.
“I think as a nation we can agree having senior day on the 1st game of the season is the dumbest thing nipple ring has ever done,” Portnoy wrote on X.
I think as a nation we can agree having senior day on the 1st game of the season is the dumbest thing nipple ring has ever done pic.twitter.com/iiO4uhBoUB
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) September 5, 2026
“Yeah? lol, it’s pretty selfish in a way. You’re rushing them out of a season they just started,” Michigan supporter Marell Evans added.
Yeah?
lol, it’s pretty selfish in a way.
You’re rushing them out of a season they just started. https://t.co/MvjE1l0Hlp
— Marell Evans (@Marell_Evans) September 5, 2026
“So soft. So true,” another Michigan fan added, taking a dig at the Buckeyes.
“Changing senior day because you’re scared of Michigan is insane,” another fan added.
“Never forget Ohio State moved senior day to week 1 vs Ball State because they didn’t want Michigan to ruin it for the 3rd time in a row,” another fan said.
Never forget Ohio State moved senior day to week 1 vs Ball State because they didn’t want Michigan to ruin it for the 3rd time in a row
— Underwood Leashed (@Underwood_szn) September 5, 2026
“Michigan Men would never stoop this low,” Wolverines fan Ryan Patten commented.
For the players who transferred to Ohio State this offseason, they hadn’t even played their first snap for the program yet they were still involved in the Senior Day festivities. This rubbed some fans and analysts the wrong way.
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Day explained in August that the program decided to celebrate Senior Day in Week 1 because they wanted to keep the focus on “The Game” in November, adding that they wanted to minimize distractions for that week.
This is a polarizing decision for Day and Ohio State, so it’s no surprise that Michigan fans are taunting them given the intense rivalry.
