Instead of looking back on what could have been, Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer is focused on what still can be.
The Buckeyes came into this season with national title hopes. They were ranked No. 2 in both the AP and Coaches preseason polls. They had a schedule laid out to impress all of the necessary muckety mucks.
And then the loss to Oklahoma came, but it was okay. One loss never did anybody in. There would be plenty of time for the Buckeyes to work their way back into the national title picture. Which they did.
Then one week after defeating No. 2 Penn State with a miraculous comeback at home, they went on the road and lost to Iowa.
Even after that loss, however, eventually the College Football Playoff commmittee said the gap between Alabama and Ohio State was thin, giving hope to the Buckeyes that a Big Ten Championship would flip that gap in favor of OSU.
The Buckeyes got that title win, but they didn’t get the playoff spot. That went to Alabama.
Meyer and his team were devastated, but they have moved on despite having what the head coach believes is a national championship caliber team.
“Do I think this is a national caliber team? Absolutely,” he said. “We had a bad loss. That happened. So move on. We’re not going to look backwards. I promise you this, we’re going to look forward.”
The loss set the mood back, but Meyer is intent on it not setting the program back. They are once again on the practice field with the same motivation they had before — to win for each other.
“We finished top ten — I saw the stat, top ten offense, top ten defense,” Meyer said. “We had to replace six guys that left early for the NFL draft. We have a very powerful recruiting class coming in. It’s a very healthy program right now.
“But what really matters to me is guys like [Chris Worley] — I can’t ask Chris Worley for something else. I can’t say, ‘Hey, I need you to do this.’ He’s done – and that goes to where I can start listing the names. At this point in my life, my career that’s all I want; I want to coach guys I like, I want to be around guys I like.”
I agree with Urban that it’s a top ten offense and defense. Definitely a top ten team. But national championship caliber, no. Sorry, not with J.T. NC caliber teams don’t shoot themselves in the foot with the mistakes we’re still seeing. They’re a pretty good 10-2 team who were soundly beaten by a better Oklahoma team and then trounced by an average Iowa team on both sides of the ball. Nobody who had 55 points laid on them by Iowa that late in the season is national championship caliber. Keep it real, Scoobie. Best get gearing up for the Trojans and their top ten quarterback.
Still no explanation from Meyer as to WHY the team was so badly outcoached, outschemed and outplayed at Iowa nor the corrective measures taken to insure that it doesn’t happen again. Hint: it wasn’t the pink locker rooms.