But will there, be?
I read an article this weekend that OSU should probably hang onto him for one more year considering the playoff expansion, and the fact that OSU has lost 4 games over the last 3 seasons, with one of those losses to UGA in the semis. I generally agree, but with the caveat that he's on the shortest of leashes next season. But the real question for OSU (in my mind) is whether Day can take this obviously top 10 program, and make them into a top 2-3 TEAM.
What I mean by that is that OSU's recruiting, facilities, following, etc. are clearly top 10. You could probably even make the argument it's top 5. But is that enough? We haven't seen the 2 previous Michigan losses affect OSU recruiting at all (OSU is consistently top 5, and would be the envy of every team not named UGA and Bama, including Michigan), and it's very relevant that Michigan is usually in the 10-20 range. IOW, Michigan is beating OSU on the field, while OSU is beating Michigan is the usual metrics we look at to predict on-field success. And while this year's game was closer, the previous 2 contests were not terribly competitive (relatively speaking). And this year we should take into account that Michigan was missing their HC and didn't have the VAUNTED SIGN STEALING ADVANTAGE.
But OSU's success or failure against Michigan (and vice versa) is about to become a whole lot less important. Michigan has really made hay these last 3 seasons by building outstanding teams (and reinforcing the program's ethos) but also by spending the majority of the season preparing for OSU. MGoBlog, a very astute Xs and Os blog, frequently talks about the meta-game of The Game. i.e., the teambuilding strategy vis-a-vis the rival. JH brought in Don Brown ahead of the '16 season and in his 4 years against OSU, Michigan entered The Game with a top 10 ranking and top 10 statistic defense in 3/4 years. Yet, only one of those games was competitive (2016) and after the 2016 game, OSU seemed to figure out Brown's more college-y defensive approach by going to a pro offense. Well, JH went to his brother over in Baltimore and set about building a pro-style defense. First with Mike Macdonald, and now with Jesse Minter. That approach (paired with a possession-dominating efficiency monster offense) really stifled OSU in '21 and '22. Michigan was better than OSU this year, but if OSU was qualifying for the CFB playoffs, I think it's fair to say they'd care a lot less.
All of this is to say that I think Michigan and OSU are about to start caring about each other a whole lot less. Coaches and programs will still care about conference titles, but in the same way bball teams do. But making a Final 4 run and winning it all, will become the new benchmarks. And when your regular season opponents become less of a can't-miss obstacle, I think coaches will become more concerned with how their game travels, especially against top 5-10 teams, than about one specific team--like Michigan and OSU do now.
I will write out my full thoughts about The Game (2023 Edition) soon, but for now, I'll just say IT'S GREAT, TO BE, A MICHIGAN WOLVERINE!