EAST LANSING, Mich. – Postgame interviews on network TV are the realm of highly-paid coaches and dynamic star quarterbacks. But in the moments after Ohio State’s 26-6 win over Michigan, OSU head coach Urban Meyer stepped aside and FOX sideline reporter Jenny Taft turned to talk to punter Drue Chrisman.
“This is my first time being on the TV after the game, and I didn’t even know (the postgame interview) room existed,” Chrisman said afterward with a laugh.
You don’t normally see punters on the postgame show because they don’t normally do what Chrisman did on Saturday.
In the second half, with the Buckeyes clinging to a small lead, Chrisman dropped punts inside the Michigan State 10 on five consecutive possessions. And every time he did, Ohio State gunners – including senior wide receiver Terry McLaurin – were there to kill the ball.
After the half, McLaurin downed two punts inside the 6, senior wide receiver Johnnie Dixon downed one, long snapper Liam McCullough got one, and one punt rolled out of bounds. It all added up to crippling field position for the Spartans.
“That’s our goal. Pin them deep and then we’ll get the ball back and get some points out of it. If we’re doing our job tilting the field on them, it makes it harder on them for sure,” Chrisman said.
While Chrisman basked in the media spotlight, Urban Meyer was just as quick to praise McLaurin for his part in those plays.
Special teams is one of Meyer’s pet projects, and he knows just how remarkable McLaurin is at what he does.
“As you go back to Brad Roby, Devin Smith, Denzel Ward, Gareon Conley. Those are gunners, we call them. And Terry is as good as there is. He might have taken over the title as the best I’ve ever had,” Meyer said.
After the game, Meyer said those plays may have been the margin between and win and a loss.
“Five inside the 6 yard line. In those kind of conditions, that was the difference.”
McLaurin knows that even though his name doesn’t show up in the box score for those plays, they were some of the biggest of his career.
“That’s part of our plan to win. Coach Meyer preaches it, he calls it The Gospel. We have a big board and there’s like a 3% chance for teams to score when they’re starting inside their own 5. We preach that, we believe that.”
There’s no doubt that McLaurin is a true believer. Meyer said that the senior wide receiver was exhausted by the end of the game, but kept going out there because he knew the Buckeyes needed him.
“He’s worn out now,” Meyer said. “He mentioned a couple times that he almost couldn’t go, but he knew how important it was to get that ball down inside the 5 yard line.”
The day ended with the special teams getting credit for the win and Chrisman being hailed as the hero. Ironically, it also started with one of the worst punts you’ll ever see.
On the Buckeyes’ first possession, the offense went three-and-out. Chrisman trotted on the field, caught the snap, dropped the ball, and kicked it almost sideways, straight into the stands.
“I think I didn’t realize how strong the wind was. It pushed it right out of my hand on the drop, came off the side of my foot about 10 rows deep into the bleachers,” Chrisman said. “I don’t know where it ranks on Ohio State’s worst punts in history, but it was definitely my worst punt.”