OHIO STATE

'Crazy' expectations soar for Buckeyes

Jon Spencer
Reporter

Short of firing himself or texting in church (a no-no on that pink contract drawn up by his family) or finding himself in the middle of a Tresselian-like scandal, Urban Meyer would appear to have his job as Ohio State football coach as long as he wants it.

Still ...

Sunday's announcement that LSU had fired Les Miles, winner of a national title at OSU's expense and owner of the highest winning percentage in school history, had to make even someone of Meyer's stature blanch.

With his Buckeyes opening Big Ten play Saturday in a noon home game against Rutgers, Meyer was asked Monday whether you're ever safe enough, secure enough, in his profession.

"You just got to beat Rutgers, man," Meyer said, his almost exasperated response drawing laughter from reporters. "I'm just worried about this place right here. It's crazy and it's getting crazier and to (who) much is given, much is expected.

"Television contracts and the College Football Playoff and the intense fan support that we have now, I mean it's always been good, and when I was at ESPN (as a color analyst) is when I really learned how good college football is. And it's pushing everything to be the best. So it's just part of the business, part of the game. With all this great support and great rewards, it also comes (with) a lot of pressure."

For better and sometimes worse, Meyer has put a number of his assistants in a similar spot. Fourteen have ascended to head coaching jobs in the college ranks, including Chris Ash, his counterpart Saturday. Ash spent the last two years as co-defensive coordinator of the Buckeyes before getting plucked away by Rutgers.

Coming off their bye week, quarterback J.T. Barrett and the Ohio State Buckeyes are now looking at nine straight weeks of Big Ten play -- 10 if they qualify for the league championship game in Indianapolis.

If, as they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Ash worships at the shrine of Urban Meyer. Ash might be the king of copycats, taking everything from Ohio State's schemes — "It's our defense. I mean, like exactly," Meyer said — to filling his staff with seven former OSU aides, to even adopting many of Meyer's practices off the field, in terms of motivation, leadership and incentives.

Talent, apparently, is the only thing keeping Ash's program from being a carbon copy. A minor detail, right?

The Scarlet Knights went toe-to-toe Saturday with defending West Division champion Iowa, but any moral victory in the 14-7 loss was tempered by season-ending injuries to defensive end Quanzell Lambert (knee) and wide receiver/return specialist Janarion Grant (ankle), considered the team's best playmaker on offense.

Wearing that label on defense is tackle Darius Hamilton, and he also came up hobbling against the Hawkeyes.

So Saturday's game could get uglier than that 59-0 beat down the Buckeyes administered to Wisconsin in the 2014 Big Ten Championship Game. That was the last time Meyer faced a former assistant in Gary Andersen.

Nowadays, you don't want to be a former anything with ties to Meyer. Or have you already forgotten the season-opening 77-point tattoo his Buckeyes put on Bowling Green, the school where Meyer cut his head coaching teeth?

Ohio State proceeded to wallop Tulsa 48-3 and then really opened eyes on the road by clobbering once-No. 3 Oklahoma, knocking the Sooners, already staggered by a loss to Houston, through the ropes and out of the Top 25.

In the spirit of Debate Monday, Ohio State fans are right to wonder if last Saturday's "bye" on the schedule came at the right time for a team that quickly went from the most inexperienced team in America (16 new starters and a roster more than half-filled with freshmen) to a program pundits are now penciling in for the College Football Playoff.

"If anything, I like that it's going to be (nine) straight games, so we get in a rhythm and stay in a rhythm," quarterback J.T. Barrett said. "I wouldn't want the bye week to be later because then maybe it messes up the rhythm we have."

Meyer was on the other side of the debate, mostly because of the mental and physical toll it might take on the Buckeyes, who are looking at 10 consecutive weeks of Big Ten action if they are fortunate enough to reach the league championship game in Indianapolis.

"I'm not worried so much about the staff, but the grind on a player, and that's why you hope you develop enough depth, to keep a nice rotation going," he said. "I have to be smart about practice because we've got nine straight weeks coming up against Big Ten opponents and a bunch of tough road games, so yeah I'm kind of looking out in the future as well. We're really going to hit the grind."

It doesn't help that waiting at the end of that stretch are Ohio State's two biggest rivals, Michigan State and archenemy Michigan. It's the kind of gantlet that will have a coach questioning, if not his security, at least his sanity.

jspencer@nncogannett.com

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