Ohio State wasn’t supposed to compete for a national championship until next year.
At least, that’s the outlook head coach Urban Meyer had before the 2014 season kicked off.
The Buckeyes were in the process of replacing four starters along their offensive line, their top running back, top wide receiver, a first-team All-American linebacker and a first-round NFL draft pick at cornerback. On top of that, they lost star quarterback and Heisman Trophy candidate Braxton Miller 11 days before the opener to a season-ending shoulder injury.
So it’s easy to understand why Meyer was skeptical of his team’s chances of making the kind of championship run it’s on right now. With so much youth filling the void left by so many talented and experienced players, there was bound to be a sizable setback.
“We’re a young program, a team where if you had told me this in August, I would have said, ‘Not yet,’ ” Meyer said, according to Jim Naveau of The Lima News. “Maybe next year, but not this year because we were so young.”
Expectations for Ohio State bottomed out after it fell to a bad Virginia Tech team at home in Week 2. But Meyer got the Buckeyes to rally as they won their final 10 regular-season games by an average of 25 points. A 59-0 rout over Wisconsin propelled them into the College Football Playoff, where they beat Alabama in the Sugar Bowl semifinal to advance to the national title against Oregon.
Meyer was able to do all of this…
Continue Reading: Ohio State Football: Young Stars Give the Buckeyes a Bright Future
