Ohio State coach Urban Meyer has been tough on his team to guard against complacency. This official in the national championship game against Oregon got off easy by comparison.(Photo: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports) If you’re the Ohio State Buckeyes, girding for defense of your College Football Playoff national championship, the last thing you want as you head to the practice field is the thumb from coach Urban Meyer. “I like to stand there and watch,” Meyer said. “I’ll send a guy back who doesn’t have the right (focus). You’re going to be working out in full pads, 100 degree heat, and if you have a sour puss on your face, you’re getting back in (the locker room). I tell them ‘Fake it or you’re not going to practice.’ Just fake it. It’s pep in your step. We call it demeanor.” There were plenty of reasons to be a “sour puss” last season, starting with the loss of quarterback and two-time Big Ten Player of the Year Braxton Miller to a shoulder injury before the first game and the shell shock of losing the second game at home to huge underdog Virginia Tech. Then to reel off 10 wins in a row, put yourself in position to win a Big Ten Championship and possibly sneak into the inaugural four-team CFP — only to lose replacement quarterback and Heisman Trophy candidate J.T. Barrett to a broken ankle in the regular season finale? How much adversity can a team withstand…
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