COLUMBUS — Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer spoke with the media Sunday about OSU’s selection to play USC in the Cotton Bowl. Linebacker Chris Worley and quarterback J.T. Barrett also took some time to answer questions. Here are the highlights.
Urban Meyer
+ “Did I expect? I hoped.” He didn’t study the scenarios that much. He was focused on his team’s focus and they did that.
+ Thoughts on USC? “I know their coach a little bit.” He hasn’t studied them yet, obviously. “We’re excited. I just really want to do right by our guys. Our guys have been fantastic.”
+ Meyer hasn’t fallen into the trap of nothing else matters. Big Ten Championships matter. They are going to have a very big championship ring.
+ “This is a really good team, man. A really close team.” He’s had teams where he didn’t feel good about some players. He doesn’t have that here.
+ The players are probably devastated, but families come together in times like this. “How do you handle disappointment? Get together, man.”
+ Was this a national champion type of team? “Sure.” “Absolutely.”
+ Can’t wait to get signage in the facilities about having won the 2017 Big Ten Championship. He wants players to see what they’ve done. “There’s going to be a wall for this team.”
+ On playoff scenarios, and if Alabama was in regardless of anything OSU did yesterday? “I didn’t study it at all, and I’m not going to.”
+ J.T. Barrett didn’t prove anything to Meyer because he’s already proven everything to him. When somebody tells him Barrett is 50-50 to play, he knows that’s really 70-30 that he’s going to be ready.
+ He is happy right now because he loves these guys and they finished the season out right. “We’re gonna go get this one.”
+ He is disappointed to not make the playoff, he just handles it a little differently than he used to.
+ When he saw Alabama’s logo appear on the bracket, “I sunk in my chair.” But then his thoughts went to his players.
+ Meyer doesn’t expect to or want to see players skip the bowl game because he thinks these guys want to go out and get one more win.
Chris Worley
+ “You’re definitely devastated. Whenever you have so many guys that you know you’ve put so much work in, if you’re not devastated, you probably didn’t put the work in.”
+ “Can’t change it.” Still fortunate to to be playing for so much.
+ It was a surprise not getting in, even with the two losses.
+ Everyone is going to be devastated on the team. If you’re a competitor, you want to play for the title. You can’t tell them to be devastated. The only way to make things feel better is to get back to work.
+ You channel the devastation into your work.
+ On USC, “That’s a tradition-rich program, like Ohio State.” He grew up watching them.
+ Tremendous respect for USC quarterback Sam Darnold.
+ When you have a resume, you turn it in and the employer looks at the entire resume, and that’s what they do. They don’t just look at the Iowa game. They look at their entire season and see what they can fix.
+ “I don’t see any guys on this team” skipping the bowl game for the NFL. “The brotherhood, that’s real.” The guys love playing together. If there isn’t a legit injury, he doubts that would happen here.
+ Can’t go out against USC trying to prove the committee wrong because it won’t help them any this year. You only go out to play and win for each other.
+ Winning out against Michigan, Wisconsin, and USC would be very tough to do, but to have that opportunity is a blessing.
+ He found out OSU didn’t make it from his dad. He didn’t watch the show. He didn’t feel like dealing with the emotions. He was tired. His dad was mad. “You’d think he played for Ohio State.” “He’s a firecracker. I was just trying to tell him to relax.”
+ A lot of people harp on the negatives and they don’t realize the blessings that they have, and this is a blessing.
J.T. Barrett
+ The knee won’t keep him out of the Cotton Bowl.
+ He hasn’t thought about finishing his college career near his home, but he’s probably going to have to start begging for tickets pretty soon.
+ This week he just tried to put himself in a position to be himself. “It was whatever it took to win the game. That’s how it always is.”
+ The recovery time for Barrett’s surgery is normally 3-4 weeks, but he said, “We don’t really have that kind of time.” It was a constant thing to get treatment.
+ Why did he want to come back so quickly? “Love for team.” The offseasons are tough and you build great bonds. What would you do for your brothers? “I would do anything.” He tried to show that through his actions this week.
+ The last time he played a football game in Texas was in high school, so it will be good to be in that atmosphere against a team like USC.
+ Barrett feels like OSU is a top 4 team. He’s hurt by not getting in. But it was out of their control after the game last night. “It’s going to sting for a minute.” They needed to go out and beat Wisconsin to have a chance, and they did that.
+ Is this the next best thing to being in the playoffs? “I don’t know how to answer that, but I guess so.”
+ There are always some plays that you miss in every game. Yeah, you could always score more points, but at the end of the day it’s about winning the game against a very good opponent.
+ Barrett would be shocked if any Buckeye chose to skip the bowl game.