Once Urban Meyer found out the Oregon Ducks won the Rose Bowl by 39 points, completely shutting out the Florida State Seminoles, he appeared to be shocked. There hadn’t been time for Meyer to check the outcome of that game, as the Buckeyes were playing in the Sugar Bowl, which began immediately afterward. All of Meyer’s attention was needed to coach his team.
O-H-I-O! No. 4 Ohio St upsets No. 1 Alabama in #SugarBowl , 42-35. OSU will play Oregon in National Championship Game. pic.twitter.com/fDrzDoyOi5
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 2, 2015
After the Buckeyes’ upset over the Crimson Tide , with the game’s final score at 42-35, a reporter asked Meyer what his thoughts were concerning the Seminoles’ defeat by nearly 40 points. Meyer couldn’t conceal the look of surprise that came over his face, knowing his team will be facing them January 12 in the first College Football Playoff National Championship game.
The response Meyer then gave was short but very much to the point, expressing what any coach would be thinking with less than two weeks to get ready.
“Oregon won by forty? I gotta go. We gotta go get ready for that one.”
And what does Urban Meyer’s team think about the Ducks’ stunning Rose Bowl victory? While the amount the Ducks won by was rather shocking, the Buckeyes’ senior defensive lineman, Michael Bennett, said his team will stay focused in preparation for the upcoming game.
“We played this game to play the next game, so I think everybody’s minds are already on the next game. I don’t think it’s gonna be hard to refocus people. Guys didn’t see this game as the big time, we saw this game as the next step.”
Do Meyer’s Buckeyes have a chance of winning against the Ducks? The Buckeyes did win over the number one college team in the country, but they also had to make a huge comeback in order to clinch their win. Of course, the fact that they were able to do just that doesn’t escape Meyer’s attention.
Ohio State came back from 15 points to win, making it OSU’s biggest comeback victory since Oct. 28, 1989. #SugarBowl pic.twitter.com/YefgxoLIDJ
— ESPN CollegeFootball (@ESPNCFB) January 2, 2015
It’s evident Urban Meyer has faith in his team, when asked about the idea that the Big Ten — and perhaps even Ohio State — isn’t “good enough.”
“At some point it gets exhausting when you keep hearing and hearing and then you start believing. And that’s fine if you coach. But if you’re a player? Pretty d*mned good players sitting to my left here.”
The team Urban Meyer coaches believe in Meyer as much as he does them, as shown by senior linebacker Curtis Grant’s statement.
“We bought into what Coach Meyer was selling. We believe in him and he set us in the right way.”
On January 12, it’ll be the Bucks vs. the Ducks. Urban Meyer and his team will be getting ready in the meantime to bring home the title.
Will you be watching Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes? Do you think Meyer’s reaction afterward no matter the outcome will garner as much attention as it did after the Sugar Bowl?
[Image courtesy of ESPN Video]
