*This article is Part II of a two part series that takes a closer looker at the head coaches in the College Football National Championship game.
Shattered, frayed, and beyond burned out, Urban Meyer departed the University of Florida after the 2010 season as a physical wreck and emotionally shattered. He originally wanted to sit out the 2010 season but was talked off the ledge by Florida Athletic Director Jeremy Foley. It was a mistake for all concerned, as the Gators were a mere shell of their two national title teams under Meyer, lacking the dynamic polish of his previous teams.
Meyer then went to work at ESPN and to reconnect with his family as he healed from the wounds of a program that had developed a renegade reputation. He also had to reassess his own failings to keep up with Nick Saban, who became the kingpin coach of the Southeastern Conference.
The Call Home
Meyer was a decent, matter-of-fact studio analyst. But that 2011 season on TV may have been the most valuable of his life as he recharged his batteries. And then opportunity struck with the perfect job that fell right into his lap. Jim Tressel was fired for the infamous tattoos-for-trophies scandal, and interim replacement Luke Fickell proved too small for the job as an interim in 2011. Meyer, a native of Ohio, was soon called home to restore the program to glory and national prominence.
Game Changer
Upon arriving at Ohio State, Meyer inherited a solid but unspectacular Big Ten program that had won 10 or more games in eight out of the previous nine seasons before Fickell’s ill-fated 6-7 season. The Buckeyes were the dominant team in the Big Ten Conference but failed miserably more often than not on the national stage including two BCS title game defeats. Ohio State lacked the power and speed of superior SEC teams.
Meyer changed that instantly with his superior recruiting skills and his contacts in the south from his days at Florida. All of a sudden the Buckeyes were acquiring SEC talent at a Big Ten school. Meyer even went so far as to chide other Big Ten programs for their lack of recruiting efforts on a national level. He had a vision to challenge the SEC for supremacy even as the national perception was that the Big Ten was too stodgy to ever compete at such a high level.
Best Coaching Job Ever
After posting records of 12-0 and 12-1 in his first two years on the job, Meyer recruited so well that he had this year’s Buckeyes team poised for a national championship run and was a preseason favorite to do so. Then starting QB Braxton Miller went down to injury in August camp and was lost for the season. Immediately the reaction was that Ohio State was done and that they could kiss their national championship hopes goodbye.
In a coaching performance for the ages Meyer quickly got freshman JT Barrett up to speed and able to lead the Bucks to a 12-1 regular season, as Ohio State coasted to the Big Ten East Division title. But just as they entered the Big Ten Championship Game against Wisconsin, they were forced to start third-string QB Cardale Jones after Barrett went down in the regular season finale. Wisconsin became the betting favorite in the title matchup with the Bucks. Ohio State steamrolled to an eye-popping 59-0 win that made for a resounding closing argument and a berth in the first ever Final Four Playoff.
Having to face the top-ranked and mighty Crimson Tide of Alabama and his old nemesis Saban, Meyer and the Buckeyes were again written off dead. But Ohio State instead scored a resounding 42-35 win over Bama and was the clear and definitively superior team. The Bucks outgained the Tide with 537 yards to 407. It was no fluke, and provided the ultimate evidence that Meyer was back as the best in the game.
The Battle is Joined
When Meyer arrived at Columbus college football was in the midst of “SEC Fatigue.” Many fans grew weary of the beastly league down south and the rest of the nation was said to have played inferior football. No more. As Ohio State enters Monday’s national championship game against Oregon the SEC is left out in the cold and will suffer its second consecutive year without a national title.
Meanwhile, closer to home the Bucks’ arch rival Michigan hired Jim Harbaugh out of desperation to go “all in” in their effort to catch up to Meyer’s Ohio State team. The rest of the nation is following suit and stepping up their efforts. College football is in fact going through national Urban renewal and it all points towards one of the best eras that the game as ever seen.
