CHICAGO — The last time Urban Meyer entered a season leading the No.1 team in the country, it nearly cost him his life. Fresh off Florida’s 2008 national championship season – its second title in three years – Meyer was starting to feel the toll of success and heightened expectations. The Gators were overwhelming favorites in 2009, but the stress got to Meyer. He lost 37 pounds that season and twice suffered health scares that eventually led him to briefly step away from the program. He would return to coach one more season but the damage was done. He was, in his words, “mentally broken.” Six years later, a different Urban Meyer sets to embark on a similar challenge leading an Ohio State team that won last season’s national championship. This time, Meyer said he’s up for the test. “If you remember back to ’09 – and I have – we won 22 straight games, we went undefeated in the Southeastern Conference and it was a miserable year, according to people, including myself,” Meyer said. “That’s my fault. If we win every game this year, I can assure you, it’s not going to be miserable.” Meyer doesn’t call it “defending” a national championship. …
Continue Reading: Ohio State faces challenges in bid for repeat football title
