Ohio State could be starting a dynasty under Urban Meyer
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Version 0 of 1. Get used to this. Get used to scarlet and gray on New Year’s Day, to silver helmets covered in both Buckeye stickers and confetti, to Urban Meyer thrusting trophies in the air. Get used to Ohio State sitting atop the college football world. Now that Meyer has taken them there, they’re not going anywhere. In the span of 13 games, Meyer has finished rebuilding a program, rendered the Big Ten’s reputation irrelevant and sprouted a burgeoning dynasty. Ohio State’s 42-20 mauling of Oregon on Monday night in the national championship affirmed Ohio State’s place in the sport. In three years under Meyer, the Buckeyes have gone 38-3. Only complacency could prevent their continued rise. Like Alabama’s 2009 national title, won in Nick Saban’s third year, Monday night’s victory elevated a historic power back to the present-day elite. The era of Ohio State’s inability to keep up athletically with the elite programs ended over the past two weeks. In the Sugar Bowl, they stood toe-to-toe with Alabama in every facet. In the title game, their big guys were bigger than Oregon’s and their fast guys were faster. They entered as underdogs, but they dominated like bullies. They gave the ball away four times, and they still melted away the clock with a two-touchdown lead. Somehow, a team that opened the season with a loss to Virginia Tech ended the season not only as the country’s best team, but the best team by a clear margin. The first reason to believe Ohio State can start a dynasty is Meyer. He won his third national championship, and he joined Saban as the only coach to win titles with two different schools since the introduction of the BCS. He recruits better, develops players better and schemes better than anyone else. He might be a crazy person, but he has mastered college football like he owns a cheat code. Meyer has built an arsenal of young talent. Six offensive starters Monday night were sophomores or freshmen, and five on defense were underclassmen. Those freshmen and sophomores didn’t complement their older teammates; they formed the core of a national champion. The list includes quarterback Cardale Jones, running back Ezekiel Elliot, wide receiver Jalin Marshall, defensive lineman Joey Bosa, linebacker Darron Lee and cornerback Eli Apple. Another wave is coming. Meyer is a maniacal recruiter, and Rivals.com ranked Ohio State’s 2015 class No. 7 in the country. Much has been made about the Midwest’s declining population and the dominance of southern high school football. Well, while Meyer ropes off Ohio from other schools, he can go into other regions and convince those players to play for him, too. Fourteen of Ohio State’s 24 committed recruits for 2015 come from either Ohio, Michigan or Minnesota. Meyer also landed a four-star quarterback from Florida, a four-star offensive lineman from Virginia and a four-star cornerback from Florida. During their victory Monday night, Kareem Walker, the No. 1 running back in the class of 2016, committed to Ohio State. He’s from Wayne, N.J. Ever since Meyer arrived in Columbus, the rest of the Big Ten has rushed to keep up. Putting aside Michigan State under Mark Dantonio, it still has a ways to go. Michigan should soon infringe on Ohio State’s dominance under Jim Harbaugh, and James Franklin has hauled in top recruiting classes at Penn State. But it could be several years until another Big Ten program catches up to Ohio State, and so the Buckeyes’ path to the College Football Playoff figures to be easier than any SEC team, which figures to be their biggest challenge. Think about that, the SEC trying to catch up to Ohio State. In 2006, Meyer won his first national championship at Florida. As an underdog, the Gators crushed Ohio State and gave birth to a narrative: The Big Ten was too slow and couldn’t find the athletes to keep pace with the rest of the country. Meyer created the reputation, and almost a decade later he smashed it to bits. And both he and the Buckeyes appear to be far from finished. |