COLUMBUS — Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer spoke with the media for his weekly Monday availability. He answered some questions about the loss at Iowa and looked forward a bit to Saturday’s key matchup against Michigan State. You can watch the video below. Here are the highlights.
+ There won’t be a speech about not having the national title available any longer. There are still plenty of things to play for.
+ There were some devastating penalties that kept drives alive. “There is no excuse for them and we’ve addressed them.” You can’t have those in these kind of games.
+ Nick Bosa apologized to Meyer for the targeting penalty. He was just lunging at the ball. “There was no intent is what he told me.”
+ J.T. Barrett’s inconsistency in the Iowa game was not normal, especially the interceptions. Today is a big day to get going for the next game. He feels like Barrett forced too many throws. That’s not what this offense is.
+ Bouncing back for this week is going to be a big key for the season. They work all year long for games like this. This game is between the top two teams in the Big Ten East and the Michigan State game is usually a prize fight. “The tougher team usually wins.”
+ Is there a problem within the program? Meyer is only focused on beating Michigan State right now. The kicking game was much better though.
+ “I think Iowa played well and we didn’t play very well.” They couldn’t get off the field on defense and that hurts.
+ There was a conversation about J.K. Dobbins’ carries. Dobbins should have more than six carries, “but we got behind and started to throw a lot.”
+ There are two quality tailbacks, so he is not going to micromanage who plays. The blowout aspect of the Iowa game eliminated much of the running game in the second half.
+ The depth on the offensive line is “not even close” to where Meyer wants it.
+ Iowa executed their game plan well. The first quarter and a half, the OSU offense went up and down the field, and then the injuries hit the offensive line and sank the offense from there. Then the OSU defense can’t get off the field and the OSU offense starts to panic and that’s not how you win a game.
+ Is it a failing of the linebackers and linebacker coach to play poorly? “Sure.” Meyer evaluates it.
+ Quarterbacks having more carries than the running backs is sometimes a “get out of jail card”, but the intent is not to use the QB more than the RB.
+ There are challenges with replacing early entries, but that’s part of life in the big city. You have to watch for players who are just coming here to go to the NFL. You have to make sure the players buy in to the program and everything it has to offer. They watch it closely.
+ This team has thrown the ball more than any other Meyer team at OSU, and there has been a discussion about making sure they still remain balanced and run the ball. It’s about 55-45 right now run-pass.
+ The Iowa plan was to force J.T. Barrett to keep it on reads, so they need to address that and keep that in mind moving forward.
+ The missed tackles were disappointing and they couldn’t control the line of scrimmage on defense, which rarely happens. They have talked about it and are ready to move forward to prepare for Michigan State.
+ The question you have to ask is why there were miscues. Are they not practicing well? Do they not have the right people playing?
+ Michigan State’s offense is picking up steam right now. He will watch them tomorrow on offense. They are throwing the ball very well right now.
I think some people who have posted here should seriously consider quitting being “experts” on the OSU football program and where the blame should be placed and start following the OSU women’s water polo team instead. You might find some kindred spirits there. It would be better on your blood pressure and you might actually gain some semblance of a sense of humor. It would help with all the angst you feel immeasurably.
Hi Walt- if you’re going to counter me every time I post, I’ll do it right back. Ever think YOU should start following the water polo team instead? Yeahhh..
I’ll put my two cents’ worth in, not appended to some Kool Aid drinkers’ rambling excuses, because even those robots are finally starting to see the light. Some of you pointed out the pretzel logic Meyer likes to use when confronted with his mistakes- HIS, not Tony Alfords or Kevin Wilsons. The “we couldn’t run it because we were too far behind” statement is absurd- if they would have kept running the RUNNING BACK, they may not have been ‘too far behind”. First play of game we try the bomb rather than something of a much higher percentage- didn’t go so well, we are already “behind”. Your head coach is dodging you, folks. Its insulting for him to think true fans are so dense as to be unable to see through it… A couple more points-
1) Seems like he’s been ‘addressing” penalties a heck of a lot this year, since they are a train wreck every game it seems. What does “address” mean? I do not think that word means what he thinks it means (yes, that’s a Princess Bride reference for the faithful!)
2) The notion that JT running is a “get out of jail card” is preposterous. The RB should be your cure for that illness, coach!
3) Love how he ignored the question about the possibility of a problem within the program. Hey coach, in failing to answer- you answered.
Think we need to hear him refer to his coaching job as a “clown show”.
He’s required to do the presser.
Do the 50 or so guys and girls blame JT for the D, too?
No. They blame Coach Meyer for hiring his best buddy and actually trusting Schiano to the the DC of Ohio State. Davis has turned the linebackers into something that hasn’t been seen at Ohio State in 70 or 80 years. A garbage dump. At least 2 of those guys who be being talked about as All American candidates if Luke Fickell was still at Ohio State. Instead Urban hires this clown named Davis because they’re really good friends. A guy who has never developed a linebacker in his entire life.
Urban hung Coaches Coombs and Johnson out to dry. Pretty sad when the defensive line coach has to scream at the DC to let his unit go (get after the QB). An Army’s first duty is to kill people and break things. A defensive lines first duty is to crush backfields and make the opponent regret ever playing the game of football. Hard to do when a chicken shit is the DC.
All I HAVE TO SAY IS MOST GOD AWFUL SHOWING I EVER SEEN. OSU IS A RUNNING TEAM FIRST. WHEN THE PASSING IS THAT BAD RUN IT AND STOP THROWING INTERCEPTIONS. THEY GOT BEHIND BY TRYING TO PASS. lIKE SANDRA BULLOCK SAID, ” RUN THE DANG BALL”. RECEIVERS WERE ON SPRING BREAK, TWIDDLING THERE THUMBS INSTEAD OF GETTING OPEN AND OUTRUNNING PEOPLE .TIME FOR OC CHANGE. PISS POOR GAME PLAN. URBAN, DID YOU OK THIS GAME PLAN. IF SO YOU NEED TO BE INFORMED, GET A REAL OC,. END OF STORY.
Let’s flash back 2 yrs ago, when Sparty came to town. Remember that one, trying to throw the ball and not running Zeke ? Even Zeke commented about it afterwards. Well the trend continues. If you got a horse you ride it, till they stop it. Buckeyes have always been a tailback team. When the Bucks run the ball consistently , not just the zone read option, the team is hard to handle. On defense Fickell is missed , as the linebacker play has really been poor on this team. I still believe the common denominator lacking is discipline. Discipline in tackling, in running routes, in kickoff coverage, and pass coverage. I sometimes single out a player during the game to watch, and i have seen more players running around like a goose with its head cut off than in past years.The saying of A to B, 4 to 6 or whatever Myer keeps saying, doesn’t accomplish a thing if you don’t have discipline doing it. And the coaches need discipline too, in play calling and in what players they put into the game in certain situations. For instance, why call a pass play for the first play of the game, when at your own twenty yard line. Run the ball, let the team get rid of the nervous jitters, more than likely Dobbins would have had a descent gain. And if Dobbins is your better back, use him, don’t use Weber until Dobbins needs a break. Maybe just maybe if your not getting the players attention, a little bit of Woody, tearing up his hat, or throwing his watch down and stomping it, or even kicking over a water can, might wake them up.
I don’t recall throwing the ball and not running Zeke. I recall Barrett running and running and running the ball!!!
I deleted my original post because it needed deleted.
I’ll simply say. If this constant blame shift is the best he’s got, he should simply quit. Bye, adios. He’s already quit on the team with his dumbass CEO BS. He should just make it official and clear the hell out.
Good somebody has the guts to say it.
Please look at the game film, Iowa “BEAT THE SHIT” out of OSU. Enough said. Move on!!!
Dobbins, Dobbins and more Dobbins. He is the game-breaker. Give him a chance to do it. GO BUCKS – BEAT MSU.
Well? I didn’t see how much JT added to his record setting QB running yardage. That used to be a weekly thing.
He added to his career pick 6s
That’s a four million dollar answer – Penalties at inopportune times? Cannot run it because we were so far behind? 17-17 at one point, before fake FG – outcoached – no timeout! If you run it more, then we will not have 4 INT and the score becomes manageable! Was JT getting his Heisman speech ready instead of film work? I don’t think he is that kind of guy but maybe he was eating the “rat poison”.
I didn’t think this would give any real answers. Shoulda trusted my instinct. I don’t know if this team even has it in them to win the B1G. The DL is above average, but not great. The back end of the defense is average, which for Ohio State is cause for alarm. The offensive line is also average – same notation. Receivers cannot catch consistently. Dobbins is the real deal and Weber is serviceable (slightly above-average) and Barrett has made a bad situation look better for so long that people blame him for when it goes wrong.
The game’s at the ‘Shoe, but that doesn’t always help with Sparty. They CAN win this, but it’s hard to get the image of a rare blowout against the home team out of the mind.
If they can’t blow MSU out of Ohio Stadium by high double digits, it’s time for Urban Meyer to find a new place to be.
There were about 50 guys and girls listening to this trash level presser. Almost unanimous. People are sick to death of Coach Meyer force feeding JT Barrett on Buckeye Nation. Me and one other guy tried to tell them it would be stupid to turn the page on this season. LOL. First time in my life I actually felt threatened for defending a Buckeye player to Buckeye fans. Before anyone starts saying those people aren’t REAL Buckeye fans. 7 of them played for Ohio State. The only games they have missed is when they played in the NFL.
People are sick and tired of Coach Meyer running interference and making up excuses for JT Barrett. It’s killing the morale of the team. The more Coach tries to defend him with the same nonsense, the more resentment he’s creating even on the inside.
I like your post but I will add the linebackers are below average. They are good athletes but not good football players. If there is any physical contact with them they cant make a play. Also I am so tired of everybody saying lets really get ready and beat MSU. Does anybody realize what decent teams would do to them. I do ND. OSU will wn by 17 or more. The Big 10 is pathetic.
No, the Big 10 is far from pathetic! Actually it’s quite the handful.
It seems like IA made key adjustments and OSU refused or were incapable. The worst thing OSU did was to give IA confidence and that started the first play. Believe that all including the coaches way overlooked IA. OSU played much more poorly than IA played superbly. Don’t be surprised if IA loses two of their next three. The question for OSU is how will they now handle a hot MSU team that has the meat of their schedule behind them and has beaten PSU and MI?
It is entirely possible, unfortunately, that Urban – like many great leaders – cannot perceive the flaws. The offense wetting the bed consistently dating to 2015 over at least 2 offensive coordinators suggests there is some other common denominator. Urban may simply be blind to his own weaknesses. I don’t know.
I assume these written words don’t entirely match up to his spoken word. That being said, he is becoming more Tressel-like in his comments – if accurately represented – or he is suffering from PTSD. Time to get things fixed, because continuing to say beat us at our own game and not scheming for particular teams is fools gold. Iowa just proved that.
Almost reminds me about the bowl game against FSU 20 years ago. We gashed them running right up the gut with our OL. Still, we tried to pass and run to the edges. FSU was too fast for that. Gotta take who the other team is and what they do and scheme against it. Otherwise, coaches like Dantonio and Ferentz will beat you like we saw.
One final thing. A number of guys did not play through the whistle. If there is no consequence for that, he will lose the whole team or that will become the culture. That has to be addressed, too.
Great post Chris
NEWSFLASH: Michigan State is better than Iowa, a LOT better at this point!
They were 7 points better than Iowa at home.
Which using transitive properties Tony, means that MSU is 38 points better than the Buckeyes!
I am not sure I follow the logic here. Coach says that JT was having an inconsistent day, especially with four interceptions. Then he says that we have two good running back’s and he leaves it To others to decide who carries the ball in this case nobody carried it. Maybe if we have trust in the running backs, including in the first half before we got so far behind. Then he says that Iowa had a game plan to force JT into running. Again, that sounds like a reason to run the running backs. I hope that at some point coach simply tells his coaches to roll a running back’s at least 20 times a game and probably more. Or heads will roll. He says they have addressed all the penalties. How? Was it different from all of the times to stop penalties all year? Come on coach, you know what the problems are but they don’t seem to be getting any better. I want you to stay around for a very long time, but I’m not so sure about some of the assistant coaches .
He also said the linebackers were fooled by play action against Oklahoma and Iowa but the same people keep playing. If the back up linebackers arent good enough to play thats the coaches fault. Wisconsin lost 2 LBs to the pros, then in pre season lost maybe the best LB in the BIg and their LBs are the best in the Big.The LB im talking about was a walk on and he is better than anything OSU has. Meyer recruits well but has a problem making them better and I think its because they keep making the same mistakes but because they were 4 and 5 star recruits he just keeps letting it happen
What a cop out
What? What do you want him to say. He said they played better than us. He owned up (again) to not running the ball, but explained that once we got behind we had to pass. What answers were you looking for?
That’s the same trash he says all the time. I would expect him to shut his mouth and go coach football. Every presser now he’s driving former players away and it’s beginning to take a toll on the current roster.
Coach Meyer never owned to anything in this presser.
If the CEO doesn’t want to deep six the program he better take the CEO tie off and get his damned whistle out and go do what he’s paid to do. Coach football.