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LGHL ‘What If’ Ohio State never hired Urban Meyer
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‘What If’ Ohio State never hired Urban Meyer
Chris Renne via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Here’s a look at who the Buckeyes could have hired instead...
After the 2011 football season, Ohio State’s football program was in unfamiliar territory coming off their first losing season since 1988 under John Cooper in his initial season. Luke Fickell’s first season as the Buckeyes’ head coach took a similar route to Cooper’s. There was a lot of learning on the job, and some disappointing results along the way.
This led to a tough decision by Gene Smith. Fickell was let go after one season, and this started one of the most successful runs in Ohio State football history. The long sustained success of Jim Tressel with one national title, three national championship appearances, six Big Ten titles, and a long list of players with end of season accolades. Following in the footsteps of Tressel was not a small task, especially with the sanctions Ohio State was facing due to “Tat-Gate.”
Fickell did not fail; He struggled under the weight of instability and in the end probably ended up better off in the long run. But the one year under Fickell showed Ohio State’s leadership that they needed someone that could immediately reignite the Buckeye football program. That guy was Urban Meyer.
There is no need to re-hash the legendary career of Meyer. His 7-0 record against That Team Up North speaks for itself, and he won Ohio State’s most recent championship. He finished 83-9 in his time as the Buckeyes’ head coach — the most successful run in school history. Even with how his tenure ended and his questionable coaching staff decisions he made at the end of his stint, given truth serum no Ohio State fan is trading those seven years.
That takes me to the theme of the article: what if Ohio State never hired Urban Meyer?
Ohio State is 128-15 since the hire of Urban Meyer in 2012. Without Meyer, Ohio State has one less championship, and the trajectory of the program potentially looks very different. As an overall recession-proof program, the Buckeyes have never faced an extended stretch of mediocrity.
What we’ve seen recently with Texas, Nebraska, and Michigan until the past two seasons is how one mistake can turn into a decade of inconsistency. The closest Ohio State has been to this has to be either the end of the Earle Bruce era or more recently the whole John Cooper era, depending on who you ask. If Ohio State did not hire Meyer, this could have been the level the program fell to once again.
Looking at the other once great programs, they could have fallen even lower. Fortunately for the Buckeye faithful, they have 7-0 and a national championship to remember, because looking at the other options, Meyer was the only one.
Who Ohio State could have hired based on the coaching carousel?
This list has a lot of revisionist history, but there were also quite a few candidates who on paper were actually just bad. Seeing some of the other coaches on carousel and seeing how their careers played out shows how hard it is to be a successful high level college football coach. Maybe things would have been different for some of these coaches given the resources of Ohio State, but unfortunately for many of them that was not the case.
Dan Mullen (Mississippi State)
In hindsight this may be a crazy hire, but at the time there was not a better in name in the country for what he was doing at Mississippi State. Mullen led the Bulldogs to their most successful stretch in program history, and led the team to eight consecutive bowl games as well as being ranked No. 1 in the first College Football Playoff rankings. All these accomplishments, and the level of success at a respectfully dormant program are forgotten after taking the job at Florida.
Ohio State was a year removed from receiving sanctions, and I do not know if Mullen has the leadership qualities in him to make the Ohio State seniors stay without the chance to play in a bowl game. If he is able to keep the roster together, there is a much better situation than what he took over at Florida, where he won double digit games in his first two years. If he was able to get Braxton Miller to Ohio State, he showed with Dak Prescott, Chris Leak, and Tim Tebow.
He probably is not able to keep Fickell in the fold due to not having the stature of Meyer, but from an offensive standpoint this might have been the one hire that sneakily made sense. Beating Brady Hoke would be the only threshold in his way between success and failure. If he gets that done, maybe the world is looking at Dan Mullen differently.
Charlie Strong (Louisville)
This one is hilarious in hindsight. Strong has been a terrible coach ever since he left Louisville. This one is interesting because Louisville has never been a powerhouse, but Strong was garnering national interest as a head coach at bigger programs despite back-to-back 7-6 seasons. After not getting a larger opportunity, he caught fire with Teddy Bridgewater, going 23-3 over two seasons and parlaying that into the Texas job.
Maybe Strong jumped too early, but in this what if scenario he jumped too late. Strong’s reputation was built similarly to Mullen and other Urban Meyer assistants due to their relationship with Meyer. As we’ve seen over the last decade, that does not dictate success, and once he got the Texas job we saw what the weight of a major program did to Strong. He was actually an awesome fit at Louisville, but the resources of Texas are hard to say no to.
This to me shows that if he ended up with the resources at Ohio State, he would have imploded under the pressure much like he did at Texas. If he was the head coach at Ohio State, the Buckeyes might look like Texas now — a scary thought.
Tim Beckman (Toledo)
This came in an Athlon article about the Ohio State coaching options at the time. The former Findlay Oiler and Ohio State assistant was cutting his teeth in the MAC like many great coaches before him. Unfortunately for Beckman, his career did not reach the lofty level of the great coaches who went from the MAC to the Big Ten, which can be directly correlated with him never being considered for Ohio State’s coaching job.
Alright, that was kind of mean. Maybe Beckman could have used his local ties to raise the national level of the program. At best though, I think Beckman builds Tressel Ball light, and the Ohio State program fades into the most steady mediocrity they’ve ever experienced. Beckman had no chance at Illinois, but even before he got the Illinois job, the Ohio State one would have just been too massive of an undertaking for Beckman.
Chris Petersen (Boise State)
This was a name available at the time that was not necessarily available. Petersen was steadily successful at Boise State, and had a lore in the college football world few could match. With the “Statue of Liberty” and “hook-and-ladder,” Cardiac Chris had a reputation for beating the big dogs of the sport. Petersen was 147-38 in his career as a coach, not far behind Meyer’s record 187-32. Of all the names at this time I would have wanted, the crazy guy from the blue field would have been my first choice had it not been Meyer.
Reading and hearing stories about Petersen, the culture and commitment to excellence is incredibly similar to Meyer’s mantras, he just did things differently. Petersen went on to reinvigorate Washington in the northwest, leading them to the playoff in 2016. Winning at multiple places shows me that Petersen could have gotten the job done in Columbus. He is also the only coach on this list I feel confident in saying could have matched Meyer’s one championship.
Mark Dantonio (Michigan State)
Continuing on with the Tressel staff, the Buckeyes could have just paid the thorn in their side to coach for them. The interesting thing here, Dantonio was able to win and make the College Football Playoff with a historically downtrodden program in Michigan State. They were built on diamond in the rough, developmental players. This would not work at Ohio State, so the question is could Dantonio reach the national level needed to compete with Alabama, Clemson, and other teams over the decade?
Tressel was not the most national recruiter, but he learned quickly after his national title that if he was not in Florida, Texas, and California he was falling behind. Dantonio was part of that staff, and he also would have innately understood the challenges of the program as well as the importance of beating Michigan. Arguably the least fun hire to talk about, I think Ohio State would have been solid and found a different level of success under Dantonio. They would not have won the championship that Meyer did, in my opinion.
Rewriting history is never an easy task, but there really was point in time that could have turned Ohio State football on its head. Instead, Ohio State made the obvious choice in hiring Urban Meyer, who built the program into the national power it still is today.
Meyer did not come without his baggage — the same baggage that soured the end of his tenure in Columbus. Even with the end, Meyer’s tenure netted the Buckeyes a national title, and as we saw there was likely only one option who could have elevated Ohio State the way Meyer did.
The coaching carousel was not ripe with options. Even though I started off positive with Dan Mullen, I could not imaging saying Ohio State head football coach Dan Mullen. All the coaches listed may have thrived with the resources the Buckeyes have to offer, but many of the same coaches folded under the pressure of bigger programs.
The only name at that time I felt confident in was Petersen, but there’s no guarantee he says yes. That is the only coach at the time I would have made say no, and if it wasn’t Meyer or Petersen, well it better have been Nick Saban. Time showed that Meyer was the correct choice, and regardless of feelings, Ohio State fans are not trading those seven seasons.
What if Ohio State didn’t hire Urban Meyer? They probably would have sucked for a little longer, but they would have gotten it right eventually. Unless they didn’t, then we’d be Nebraska.
Continue reading...
Chris Renne via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Here’s a look at who the Buckeyes could have hired instead...
After the 2011 football season, Ohio State’s football program was in unfamiliar territory coming off their first losing season since 1988 under John Cooper in his initial season. Luke Fickell’s first season as the Buckeyes’ head coach took a similar route to Cooper’s. There was a lot of learning on the job, and some disappointing results along the way.
This led to a tough decision by Gene Smith. Fickell was let go after one season, and this started one of the most successful runs in Ohio State football history. The long sustained success of Jim Tressel with one national title, three national championship appearances, six Big Ten titles, and a long list of players with end of season accolades. Following in the footsteps of Tressel was not a small task, especially with the sanctions Ohio State was facing due to “Tat-Gate.”
Fickell did not fail; He struggled under the weight of instability and in the end probably ended up better off in the long run. But the one year under Fickell showed Ohio State’s leadership that they needed someone that could immediately reignite the Buckeye football program. That guy was Urban Meyer.
There is no need to re-hash the legendary career of Meyer. His 7-0 record against That Team Up North speaks for itself, and he won Ohio State’s most recent championship. He finished 83-9 in his time as the Buckeyes’ head coach — the most successful run in school history. Even with how his tenure ended and his questionable coaching staff decisions he made at the end of his stint, given truth serum no Ohio State fan is trading those seven years.
That takes me to the theme of the article: what if Ohio State never hired Urban Meyer?
Ohio State is 128-15 since the hire of Urban Meyer in 2012. Without Meyer, Ohio State has one less championship, and the trajectory of the program potentially looks very different. As an overall recession-proof program, the Buckeyes have never faced an extended stretch of mediocrity.
What we’ve seen recently with Texas, Nebraska, and Michigan until the past two seasons is how one mistake can turn into a decade of inconsistency. The closest Ohio State has been to this has to be either the end of the Earle Bruce era or more recently the whole John Cooper era, depending on who you ask. If Ohio State did not hire Meyer, this could have been the level the program fell to once again.
Looking at the other once great programs, they could have fallen even lower. Fortunately for the Buckeye faithful, they have 7-0 and a national championship to remember, because looking at the other options, Meyer was the only one.
Who Ohio State could have hired based on the coaching carousel?
This list has a lot of revisionist history, but there were also quite a few candidates who on paper were actually just bad. Seeing some of the other coaches on carousel and seeing how their careers played out shows how hard it is to be a successful high level college football coach. Maybe things would have been different for some of these coaches given the resources of Ohio State, but unfortunately for many of them that was not the case.
Dan Mullen (Mississippi State)
In hindsight this may be a crazy hire, but at the time there was not a better in name in the country for what he was doing at Mississippi State. Mullen led the Bulldogs to their most successful stretch in program history, and led the team to eight consecutive bowl games as well as being ranked No. 1 in the first College Football Playoff rankings. All these accomplishments, and the level of success at a respectfully dormant program are forgotten after taking the job at Florida.
Ohio State was a year removed from receiving sanctions, and I do not know if Mullen has the leadership qualities in him to make the Ohio State seniors stay without the chance to play in a bowl game. If he is able to keep the roster together, there is a much better situation than what he took over at Florida, where he won double digit games in his first two years. If he was able to get Braxton Miller to Ohio State, he showed with Dak Prescott, Chris Leak, and Tim Tebow.
He probably is not able to keep Fickell in the fold due to not having the stature of Meyer, but from an offensive standpoint this might have been the one hire that sneakily made sense. Beating Brady Hoke would be the only threshold in his way between success and failure. If he gets that done, maybe the world is looking at Dan Mullen differently.
Charlie Strong (Louisville)
This one is hilarious in hindsight. Strong has been a terrible coach ever since he left Louisville. This one is interesting because Louisville has never been a powerhouse, but Strong was garnering national interest as a head coach at bigger programs despite back-to-back 7-6 seasons. After not getting a larger opportunity, he caught fire with Teddy Bridgewater, going 23-3 over two seasons and parlaying that into the Texas job.
Maybe Strong jumped too early, but in this what if scenario he jumped too late. Strong’s reputation was built similarly to Mullen and other Urban Meyer assistants due to their relationship with Meyer. As we’ve seen over the last decade, that does not dictate success, and once he got the Texas job we saw what the weight of a major program did to Strong. He was actually an awesome fit at Louisville, but the resources of Texas are hard to say no to.
This to me shows that if he ended up with the resources at Ohio State, he would have imploded under the pressure much like he did at Texas. If he was the head coach at Ohio State, the Buckeyes might look like Texas now — a scary thought.
Tim Beckman (Toledo)
This came in an Athlon article about the Ohio State coaching options at the time. The former Findlay Oiler and Ohio State assistant was cutting his teeth in the MAC like many great coaches before him. Unfortunately for Beckman, his career did not reach the lofty level of the great coaches who went from the MAC to the Big Ten, which can be directly correlated with him never being considered for Ohio State’s coaching job.
Alright, that was kind of mean. Maybe Beckman could have used his local ties to raise the national level of the program. At best though, I think Beckman builds Tressel Ball light, and the Ohio State program fades into the most steady mediocrity they’ve ever experienced. Beckman had no chance at Illinois, but even before he got the Illinois job, the Ohio State one would have just been too massive of an undertaking for Beckman.
Chris Petersen (Boise State)
This was a name available at the time that was not necessarily available. Petersen was steadily successful at Boise State, and had a lore in the college football world few could match. With the “Statue of Liberty” and “hook-and-ladder,” Cardiac Chris had a reputation for beating the big dogs of the sport. Petersen was 147-38 in his career as a coach, not far behind Meyer’s record 187-32. Of all the names at this time I would have wanted, the crazy guy from the blue field would have been my first choice had it not been Meyer.
Reading and hearing stories about Petersen, the culture and commitment to excellence is incredibly similar to Meyer’s mantras, he just did things differently. Petersen went on to reinvigorate Washington in the northwest, leading them to the playoff in 2016. Winning at multiple places shows me that Petersen could have gotten the job done in Columbus. He is also the only coach on this list I feel confident in saying could have matched Meyer’s one championship.
Mark Dantonio (Michigan State)
Continuing on with the Tressel staff, the Buckeyes could have just paid the thorn in their side to coach for them. The interesting thing here, Dantonio was able to win and make the College Football Playoff with a historically downtrodden program in Michigan State. They were built on diamond in the rough, developmental players. This would not work at Ohio State, so the question is could Dantonio reach the national level needed to compete with Alabama, Clemson, and other teams over the decade?
Tressel was not the most national recruiter, but he learned quickly after his national title that if he was not in Florida, Texas, and California he was falling behind. Dantonio was part of that staff, and he also would have innately understood the challenges of the program as well as the importance of beating Michigan. Arguably the least fun hire to talk about, I think Ohio State would have been solid and found a different level of success under Dantonio. They would not have won the championship that Meyer did, in my opinion.
Rewriting history is never an easy task, but there really was point in time that could have turned Ohio State football on its head. Instead, Ohio State made the obvious choice in hiring Urban Meyer, who built the program into the national power it still is today.
Meyer did not come without his baggage — the same baggage that soured the end of his tenure in Columbus. Even with the end, Meyer’s tenure netted the Buckeyes a national title, and as we saw there was likely only one option who could have elevated Ohio State the way Meyer did.
The coaching carousel was not ripe with options. Even though I started off positive with Dan Mullen, I could not imaging saying Ohio State head football coach Dan Mullen. All the coaches listed may have thrived with the resources the Buckeyes have to offer, but many of the same coaches folded under the pressure of bigger programs.
The only name at that time I felt confident in was Petersen, but there’s no guarantee he says yes. That is the only coach at the time I would have made say no, and if it wasn’t Meyer or Petersen, well it better have been Nick Saban. Time showed that Meyer was the correct choice, and regardless of feelings, Ohio State fans are not trading those seven seasons.
What if Ohio State didn’t hire Urban Meyer? They probably would have sucked for a little longer, but they would have gotten it right eventually. Unless they didn’t, then we’d be Nebraska.
Continue reading...
LGHL ‘What If’ Ohio State didn’t lose to Michigan State in 2015?
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‘What If’ Ohio State didn’t lose to Michigan State in 2015?
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports
If the Buckeyes ran Ezekiel Elliott a little more they likely would have made a second straight CFP.
From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about asking “What If?”. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all of our ”What If?” articles here.
Sports can be wildly unpredictable. After losing Braxton Miller to injury prior to the 2014 season, falling at home to Virginia Tech, and J.T. Barrett injuring his leg later in the year against Michigan, there felt like no chance Ohio State would go on to win the first College Football Playoff.
The following year, both Cardale Jones and J.T. Barrett returned, as did a ton of talent from the previous year’s championship team, as well as Braxton Miller, who moved to wide receiver. With so much returning from a national championship team the previous year, the Buckeyes were ranked No. 1 in the preseason polls.
Even though Buckeye Nation was still on a high from winning it all the previous year, there was still one big question heading into the season: Who was going to start at quarterback for Ohio State?
At first it was looking like a three-way battle between Miller, Barrett, and Jones before Miller moved to wide receiver. The handling of who would start at quarterback for the Buckeyes by Urban Meyer was the first sign in a season that failed to live up to expectations.
How Meyer could have all spring and summer to decide on a starting quarterback and then to find out the team didn’t even know until right before kickoff of the season opener at Virginia Tech is living on the edge. Some of that is understandable since Barrett was unavailable for spring practice because of the injury he suffered against Michigan, but at some point you have to have some faith in your decision.
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Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images
Ohio State jumped out on the Hokies 14-0 in the first quarter before Virginia Tech took a 17-14 lead into halftime. The Buckeyes would eventually pull away in the second half to extract some revenge on Frank Beamer’s team. Even though Ohio State spent the first nine weeks of the season as the top-ranked team in the country, they weren’t all that impressive in their wins. The Buckeyes struggled at home against Northern Illinois, and couldn’t put any distance on Indiana in Bloomington.
On top of an inconsistent offense, in late October J.T. Barrett was charged with an OVI, leading to him being suspended for the Minnesota game. The suspension came after Barrett looked to have moved past Jones as the team’s starting quarterback. After Jones started the game against the Golden Gophers, Barrett returned to the role in a 28-3 victory over Illinois. There were so many questions about the Ohio State quarterbacks throughout the year, but the Buckeyes were still in prime position to return to the College Football Playoff.
It always seems like it is Michigan State that ruins seasons for Ohio State. 1998 and the Big Ten Championship Game in 2013 are two Spartan wins over the Buckeyes that come to mind.
It didn’t help matters that the 2015 game was played in a cold monsoon in Columbus. Even though Michigan State had one of the stingier defenses in the country, Ohio State had Ezekiel Elliott, one of the best running backs in the country. As if the odds didn’t seem like they were stacked enough against the Spartans, quarterback Connor Cook didn’t play in the game.
Some of the struggles from the Ohio State offense in 2015 can be attributed to the loss of offensive coordinator Tom Herman, who took over as head coach at Houston after the 2014 season. Even with the loss of Herman, it’s not the first time Meyer has had to replace a coordinator. For Meyer’s team to put up such a pathetic offensive performance in a game you entered 10-0 is inexcusable.
Elliott only carried the football 12 times in the game, while Barrett carried the football 15 times, and was 9-of-16 for 46 yards throwing the ball. It was the most frustrating game I’ve watched as an Ohio State fan.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24709982/498483328.jpg "Michigan State v Ohio State")
What made it even worse was how the offense performed the following week at Michigan. Elliott carried the football 30 times for over 200 yards, which makes his performance and lack of the use the week before even more puzzling. While the loss to the Spartans likely loosened up a team that had been loaded with pressure all season, it only adds to the “what if” questions when looking at the 2015 season.
It’s not a given that Ohio State would have won back-to-back titles had they beaten Michigan State in 2015, but at least they would have had a chance. Ohio State would have had to go on to the Big Ten Championship Game, where they would have played Iowa, who entered the conference title game undefeated. Not that the Hawkeyes wouldn’t have given the Buckeyes a game, Ohio State would have just been a little too much for Iowa.
It was obvious with how they played against Michigan and Notre Dame to close out the year that the Buckeyes started to find the right formula on offense. Had Ohio State made it past Iowa in the Big Ten Championship Game, there would have been a really wild College Football Playoff.
Instead, Michigan State was shutout by Alabama, while Clemson beat Oklahoma 37-17 in the other semifinal. Ohio State would have certainly given Alabama more of a game than Michigan State did, and it would have been fun to get the rematch angle from the first CFP.
Even without Ohio State as part of the playoff, the title game was thrilling, with Alabama beating Clemson 45-40. There’s no reason to think we wouldn’t have had another classic game if the Buckeyes were playing for their second straight national title. Ohio State ended up seeing 12 players drafted a few months later in the 2016 NFL Draft, with five of those players being drafted in the first round.
Not that Urban Meyer and his staff had any trouble bringing top talent to Columbus, but it would have been even easier if he had led Ohio State to back-to-back national titles. Instead, while Barrett played for Ohio State for two more seasons, they weren’t quite as feared as they were heading into the 2015 season.
The Buckeyes were destroyed by Clemson in the 2016 College Football Playoff, and they failed to make the CFP in 2017. The seasons were still great by the standards of a lot of schools, but failed to reach Ohio State’s expectations. Maybe winning the first two editions of the College Football Playoff would have eased some of the frustration from Buckeye fans.
Continue reading...
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports
If the Buckeyes ran Ezekiel Elliott a little more they likely would have made a second straight CFP.
From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about asking “What If?”. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all of our ”What If?” articles here.
Sports can be wildly unpredictable. After losing Braxton Miller to injury prior to the 2014 season, falling at home to Virginia Tech, and J.T. Barrett injuring his leg later in the year against Michigan, there felt like no chance Ohio State would go on to win the first College Football Playoff.
The following year, both Cardale Jones and J.T. Barrett returned, as did a ton of talent from the previous year’s championship team, as well as Braxton Miller, who moved to wide receiver. With so much returning from a national championship team the previous year, the Buckeyes were ranked No. 1 in the preseason polls.
Even though Buckeye Nation was still on a high from winning it all the previous year, there was still one big question heading into the season: Who was going to start at quarterback for Ohio State?
At first it was looking like a three-way battle between Miller, Barrett, and Jones before Miller moved to wide receiver. The handling of who would start at quarterback for the Buckeyes by Urban Meyer was the first sign in a season that failed to live up to expectations.
How Meyer could have all spring and summer to decide on a starting quarterback and then to find out the team didn’t even know until right before kickoff of the season opener at Virginia Tech is living on the edge. Some of that is understandable since Barrett was unavailable for spring practice because of the injury he suffered against Michigan, but at some point you have to have some faith in your decision.
Ohio State jumped out on the Hokies 14-0 in the first quarter before Virginia Tech took a 17-14 lead into halftime. The Buckeyes would eventually pull away in the second half to extract some revenge on Frank Beamer’s team. Even though Ohio State spent the first nine weeks of the season as the top-ranked team in the country, they weren’t all that impressive in their wins. The Buckeyes struggled at home against Northern Illinois, and couldn’t put any distance on Indiana in Bloomington.
On top of an inconsistent offense, in late October J.T. Barrett was charged with an OVI, leading to him being suspended for the Minnesota game. The suspension came after Barrett looked to have moved past Jones as the team’s starting quarterback. After Jones started the game against the Golden Gophers, Barrett returned to the role in a 28-3 victory over Illinois. There were so many questions about the Ohio State quarterbacks throughout the year, but the Buckeyes were still in prime position to return to the College Football Playoff.
It always seems like it is Michigan State that ruins seasons for Ohio State. 1998 and the Big Ten Championship Game in 2013 are two Spartan wins over the Buckeyes that come to mind.
It didn’t help matters that the 2015 game was played in a cold monsoon in Columbus. Even though Michigan State had one of the stingier defenses in the country, Ohio State had Ezekiel Elliott, one of the best running backs in the country. As if the odds didn’t seem like they were stacked enough against the Spartans, quarterback Connor Cook didn’t play in the game.
Some of the struggles from the Ohio State offense in 2015 can be attributed to the loss of offensive coordinator Tom Herman, who took over as head coach at Houston after the 2014 season. Even with the loss of Herman, it’s not the first time Meyer has had to replace a coordinator. For Meyer’s team to put up such a pathetic offensive performance in a game you entered 10-0 is inexcusable.
Elliott only carried the football 12 times in the game, while Barrett carried the football 15 times, and was 9-of-16 for 46 yards throwing the ball. It was the most frustrating game I’ve watched as an Ohio State fan.
What made it even worse was how the offense performed the following week at Michigan. Elliott carried the football 30 times for over 200 yards, which makes his performance and lack of the use the week before even more puzzling. While the loss to the Spartans likely loosened up a team that had been loaded with pressure all season, it only adds to the “what if” questions when looking at the 2015 season.
It’s not a given that Ohio State would have won back-to-back titles had they beaten Michigan State in 2015, but at least they would have had a chance. Ohio State would have had to go on to the Big Ten Championship Game, where they would have played Iowa, who entered the conference title game undefeated. Not that the Hawkeyes wouldn’t have given the Buckeyes a game, Ohio State would have just been a little too much for Iowa.
It was obvious with how they played against Michigan and Notre Dame to close out the year that the Buckeyes started to find the right formula on offense. Had Ohio State made it past Iowa in the Big Ten Championship Game, there would have been a really wild College Football Playoff.
Instead, Michigan State was shutout by Alabama, while Clemson beat Oklahoma 37-17 in the other semifinal. Ohio State would have certainly given Alabama more of a game than Michigan State did, and it would have been fun to get the rematch angle from the first CFP.
Even without Ohio State as part of the playoff, the title game was thrilling, with Alabama beating Clemson 45-40. There’s no reason to think we wouldn’t have had another classic game if the Buckeyes were playing for their second straight national title. Ohio State ended up seeing 12 players drafted a few months later in the 2016 NFL Draft, with five of those players being drafted in the first round.
Not that Urban Meyer and his staff had any trouble bringing top talent to Columbus, but it would have been even easier if he had led Ohio State to back-to-back national titles. Instead, while Barrett played for Ohio State for two more seasons, they weren’t quite as feared as they were heading into the 2015 season.
The Buckeyes were destroyed by Clemson in the 2016 College Football Playoff, and they failed to make the CFP in 2017. The seasons were still great by the standards of a lot of schools, but failed to reach Ohio State’s expectations. Maybe winning the first two editions of the College Football Playoff would have eased some of the frustration from Buckeye fans.
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2025 OH DB Jai'mier Scott (Wisconsin Signee)
- By pnuts34
- Football Recruiting
- 9 Replies
LGHL Buckeyes set to host major 2026 target before one of the bigger recruiting weekends in June
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Buckeyes set to host major 2026 target before one of the bigger recruiting weekends in June
Caleb Houser via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Doral Chenoweth/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
Ohio State will have some of the best receivers in the country on site this weekend.
A week into the busiest recruiting month of the year, Ohio State’s coaching staff is putting in some grueling hours, and the rest of this week will be no different. Hosting some of the biggest commits and targets, the Buckeyes in the month of June have really only just gotten started.
Ohio State’s highest rated recruit in their 2024 class needs no introduction. The top receiver in the country, Jeremiah Smith is known by everyone, and that many times is both a blessing and a curse if you’re the team that owns his commitment. Knowing how talented he is and all that he brings to the table, trying to keep other top programs away from him is certainly no walk in the park. The Buckeyes have been fending off plenty of premier schools, and that won’t change until pen hits paper.
The Buckeyes would love Smith to just shut it down and ignore every other program that talks to him, but they also know that Smith has been clear and up front that he’s solid to Ohio State and just doing his due diligence in the meantime in case anything were to happen down the road to this coaching staff. Nowadays, the many visits these top players take mean extra money in their pockets, and you can’t fault him if that’s the case.
At any rate, Smith is fresh off an official visit to Florida and just saw Georgia last month, with plans to see Florida State and Miami soon as well. But this weekend it’s all about the Buckeyes and getting him back to where he plans to spend his college career. Arriving tomorrow, Jeremiah will be in town until Sunday, and Brian Hartline will be doing what he does best and that’s recruiting. Continuing to show him why Ohio State is the best place for his development, Smith will see everything he already knows to be true and that’s why his commitment is with the Buckeyes.
He knows what Hartline can do for him, and while it may be worrisome to see him visit and entertain other schools, it’s been said that as long as Hartline and Day are in Columbus, Smith will keep his pledge. That does seem like the safe bet here, and this weekend may prove that.
Speaking of high profile receivers, Ohio State has it better than anyone since Hartline has been at the helm of the position, and that good fortune doesn’t look to be running out any time soon. Sure, the current 2024 class and the 2025 class take a lot of the priority right now, but in 2026, the Buckeyes already have their guy picked out. Fortunately, they don’t have to travel far for the Cincinnati, Ohio native.
Chris Henry Jr. may be just a high school freshman, but with nearly 30 offers to his name and a 6-foot-5 frame, he’s one of the best players in his entire class. The Buckeyes have already hosted Chris a few times now, but once again Henry Jr. will make his way back to campus today to see the coaching staff. At this rate, you have to love the chances Ohio State has at running away with this recruitment with how solid the relationship aspect between the two will be. Relationships are everything in recruiting, and the comfortability he has with this staff is only growing with each return visit.
Thanks to Bill Kurelic’s early submission, the Buckeyes have the lone 247Sports Crystal Ball prediction, and while there’s plenty of time still to go in this recruitment, the more he’s around this coaching staff the more it does seem he will eventually be a Buckeye. Certainly having Hartline as a position coach doesn’t hurt either.
A guy Perry Eliano is already making a priority this early on in the process, getting him to Columbus yesterday to see the sites was a major win and it looks as if all things went pretty well on his visit. Unranked right now on his 247Sports profile, it won’t be a surprise to see him listed amongst the top safeties in the country when the rankings are updated for his class.
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Caleb Houser via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Doral Chenoweth/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
Ohio State will have some of the best receivers in the country on site this weekend.
A week into the busiest recruiting month of the year, Ohio State’s coaching staff is putting in some grueling hours, and the rest of this week will be no different. Hosting some of the biggest commits and targets, the Buckeyes in the month of June have really only just gotten started.
Smith heading back to Columbus
Ohio State’s highest rated recruit in their 2024 class needs no introduction. The top receiver in the country, Jeremiah Smith is known by everyone, and that many times is both a blessing and a curse if you’re the team that owns his commitment. Knowing how talented he is and all that he brings to the table, trying to keep other top programs away from him is certainly no walk in the park. The Buckeyes have been fending off plenty of premier schools, and that won’t change until pen hits paper.
The Buckeyes would love Smith to just shut it down and ignore every other program that talks to him, but they also know that Smith has been clear and up front that he’s solid to Ohio State and just doing his due diligence in the meantime in case anything were to happen down the road to this coaching staff. Nowadays, the many visits these top players take mean extra money in their pockets, and you can’t fault him if that’s the case.
At any rate, Smith is fresh off an official visit to Florida and just saw Georgia last month, with plans to see Florida State and Miami soon as well. But this weekend it’s all about the Buckeyes and getting him back to where he plans to spend his college career. Arriving tomorrow, Jeremiah will be in town until Sunday, and Brian Hartline will be doing what he does best and that’s recruiting. Continuing to show him why Ohio State is the best place for his development, Smith will see everything he already knows to be true and that’s why his commitment is with the Buckeyes.
He knows what Hartline can do for him, and while it may be worrisome to see him visit and entertain other schools, it’s been said that as long as Hartline and Day are in Columbus, Smith will keep his pledge. That does seem like the safe bet here, and this weekend may prove that.
Another visit for a top in-state 2026 target
Speaking of high profile receivers, Ohio State has it better than anyone since Hartline has been at the helm of the position, and that good fortune doesn’t look to be running out any time soon. Sure, the current 2024 class and the 2025 class take a lot of the priority right now, but in 2026, the Buckeyes already have their guy picked out. Fortunately, they don’t have to travel far for the Cincinnati, Ohio native.
Chris Henry Jr. may be just a high school freshman, but with nearly 30 offers to his name and a 6-foot-5 frame, he’s one of the best players in his entire class. The Buckeyes have already hosted Chris a few times now, but once again Henry Jr. will make his way back to campus today to see the coaching staff. At this rate, you have to love the chances Ohio State has at running away with this recruitment with how solid the relationship aspect between the two will be. Relationships are everything in recruiting, and the comfortability he has with this staff is only growing with each return visit.
Thanks to Bill Kurelic’s early submission, the Buckeyes have the lone 247Sports Crystal Ball prediction, and while there’s plenty of time still to go in this recruitment, the more he’s around this coaching staff the more it does seem he will eventually be a Buckeye. Certainly having Hartline as a position coach doesn’t hurt either.
Quick Hits
- On campus Wednesday, Ohio State played host to 2026 safety prospect, Jireh Edwards. A 6-foot-1, 194 pound Maryland native, Edwards is only one year into his prep career, but already holds offers from nearly 20 schools including the likes of LSU, Georgia, Notre Dame, Tennessee, Michigan, Ohio State and more.
A guy Perry Eliano is already making a priority this early on in the process, getting him to Columbus yesterday to see the sites was a major win and it looks as if all things went pretty well on his visit. Unranked right now on his 247Sports profile, it won’t be a surprise to see him listed amongst the top safeties in the country when the rankings are updated for his class.
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Kevyn Humes (DB Maryland)
- By pnuts34
- College Football
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Class: 2025
Position: CB
School: Baltimore(MD) St. Frances Academy
Height: 5-foot-11
Weight: 185lbs
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Rivals
HudL
Class: 2025
Position: CB
School: Baltimore(MD) St. Frances Academy
Height: 5-foot-11
Weight: 185lbs
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LGHL LGHL Asks: ‘What If’ you could rewrite Ohio State football history?
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LGHL Asks: ‘What If’ you could rewrite Ohio State football history?
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images
You ask, we answer. Sometimes we ask, others answer. And then other times, we ask, we answer.
From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about players to watch this upcoming season. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all of our ”What If?” articles here.
As we are in “What If” Week, we have decided to allow you to play Doctor Strange and venture into the multiverse and change the course of Ohio State football history in this week’s LGHL Asks survey. Not only are we allowing you to make a key addition to this year’s roster, but also to rewrite history following one of the Buckeyes’ most painful and disappointing losses.
So, check out the two questions below and make sure to answer them in the survey at the bottom of the page. We will bring you the collective Buckeye Nation answers later in the week so that you can see if the other Sorceror Supremes amongst us feel the same way that you do.
Obviously, C.J. Stroud is probably the best answer to this question, if it didn’t have the caveat — and for a while, we thought that might be possible — but, with the Houston Texans quarterback off the board, who would you like to see back in the scarlet and gray for one more year?
Would you want to see what a fully healthy Jaxon Smith-Njigba could do alongside Marvin Harrison Jr. in his current other-worldly form? Or, would you like to see one of the departed offensive linemen back protecting the new, first-time starting QB?
I know what my answer would be, but I don’t want to put my thumb on the scale and influence your pick, so I will save my thoughts for when we go over the results. I have only included the players that were selected in the NFL Draft, but there are plenty of other players that you could go with if you would like. If you want to pick someone off the board, drop the name in the comments at the bottom of the page.
While Question 1 is a fun thought experiment, Question 2 might be a little more painful. Despite all of the highs that the Buckeye football team has experienced since the dawning of the 21st Century, there have been an uncomfortable number of lows as well. So, Aladdin, I am hereby granting you a single wish to change the outcome of one game since 2001 (that’s when the new century started, not 2000). I have gone ahead and selected a slate of options that I imagine would most appeal to the majority of Ohio State football fans, but, again, feel free to contribute different picks in the comments at the bottom of the page.
I have given a bit more prominence to recent games as the sting of those Ls likely lingers most, but feel free to change whichever game your heart desires.
Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Ohio State fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
Continue reading...
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images
You ask, we answer. Sometimes we ask, others answer. And then other times, we ask, we answer.
From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about players to watch this upcoming season. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all of our ”What If?” articles here.
As we are in “What If” Week, we have decided to allow you to play Doctor Strange and venture into the multiverse and change the course of Ohio State football history in this week’s LGHL Asks survey. Not only are we allowing you to make a key addition to this year’s roster, but also to rewrite history following one of the Buckeyes’ most painful and disappointing losses.
So, check out the two questions below and make sure to answer them in the survey at the bottom of the page. We will bring you the collective Buckeye Nation answers later in the week so that you can see if the other Sorceror Supremes amongst us feel the same way that you do.
Question 1: If you could have brought back one player from last year’s football team other than C.J. Stroud, who would it be?
Obviously, C.J. Stroud is probably the best answer to this question, if it didn’t have the caveat — and for a while, we thought that might be possible — but, with the Houston Texans quarterback off the board, who would you like to see back in the scarlet and gray for one more year?
Would you want to see what a fully healthy Jaxon Smith-Njigba could do alongside Marvin Harrison Jr. in his current other-worldly form? Or, would you like to see one of the departed offensive linemen back protecting the new, first-time starting QB?
I know what my answer would be, but I don’t want to put my thumb on the scale and influence your pick, so I will save my thoughts for when we go over the results. I have only included the players that were selected in the NFL Draft, but there are plenty of other players that you could go with if you would like. If you want to pick someone off the board, drop the name in the comments at the bottom of the page.
Question 2: If you could change the outcome of one Ohio State football game from this century, what would it be?
While Question 1 is a fun thought experiment, Question 2 might be a little more painful. Despite all of the highs that the Buckeye football team has experienced since the dawning of the 21st Century, there have been an uncomfortable number of lows as well. So, Aladdin, I am hereby granting you a single wish to change the outcome of one game since 2001 (that’s when the new century started, not 2000). I have gone ahead and selected a slate of options that I imagine would most appeal to the majority of Ohio State football fans, but, again, feel free to contribute different picks in the comments at the bottom of the page.
I have given a bit more prominence to recent games as the sting of those Ls likely lingers most, but feel free to change whichever game your heart desires.
Share your thoughts here:
Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Ohio State fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
Continue reading...
