Ryan Day Returns The Favor When Asked About Respecting Jim Harbaugh

Ryan Day and Jim Harbaugh appear to share the same feelings for each other.

The Wolverines welcome the Buckeyes to Ann Arbor Saturday, and Jim Harbaugh will be watching from outside the stadium as he serves the final game of his suspension. Tension and dislike between the two sides is supercharged amid UM fans believing men tied to Ryan Day's family helped expose the program's cheating scandal. There's no proof right now to support that theory. Harbaugh was asked if he respects the Ohio State coach and beautifully danced around the question.

"It’s all about our preparation for Ohio. You know, the days, the minutes, the hours, everything leading up to this game, that’s where our focus is. Preparing ourselves and planning. Gonna practice and then execute. Anything else is irrelevant when you get into this kind of big game week," Harbaugh said earlier in the week when asked if he respects Ryan Day and the OSU staff.

Ryan Day has no interest in talking about respecting Jim Harbaugh and Michigan.

Well, anyone expecting Ryan Day to pour any praise on Harbaugh and the Wolverines is in for some serious disappointment. The OSU leader also has zero interest in talking about respecting his counterpart in Ann Arbor.

"I think with everything going on and the things that are out there, we’ve just kind of stayed away from all the distractions we have and just kind of focused on our team. I think our guys have done a good job of it. … I’ve talked to them a couple times about what’s gone on this season, going into the game, but they’re focused on this game. They’re focused on this season," Day told the media Tuesday, according to The Detroit News.

Icy, folks. It's very icy between the two sides.

Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day won't say if he respects Jim Harbaugh. (Photo by Gaelen Morse/Getty Images)

Don't expect to see Day and Harbaugh cracking beers together.

As I pointed out with Jim Harbaugh's reaction, it's pretty normal for coaches to do a little "coach speak" when talking about respecting other programs and their respective leaders. It's boilerplate material to just make sure there's no bulletin board material that gets shared.

That's not what Ryan Day or Jim Harbaugh chose to do. They dislike each other so much they can't pretend otherwise. Neither could utter the other's name and "respect" in the same sentence.

Something tells me you want see these to meeting up at a halfway point to crush beers at a bar. The bitterness runs deep, and it might be incurable at this point.

Ryan Day won't say if he respects Jim Harbaugh. (Photo by Ben Jackson/Getty Images)

The good news is, fans only have to wait a few more days before the beef between Michigan and Ohio State is settled on the field. Saturday is going to be a blast, and Harbaugh being suspended only adds to the drama. Send me your predictions at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.