It’s just one game. I keep telling myself that: It’s just one game. But I can’t help but think that, in this particular case, with this particular coach leading this particular team, this one game actually tells us a whole lot about the best college football team in the country. Ohio State was of course always the favorite heading into Monday night’s showdown with Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. They were the favorite even despite the fact that this same Hokie team traveled up to Columbus last season and shocked the nation by claiming a 35-21 win—the only blemish in an otherwise perfect season for Urban Meyer’s national championship squad. They were the favorite even despite of the insane atmosphere they would certainly be facing at Lane Stadium, and even despite the fact that this particular Virginia Tech team looked pretty darn good on paper in its own right. They remained the favorites even when they announced the suspensions of four key players—including Joey Bosa—in the weeks leading up to season, and they remained the favorites, too, when they lost wideout Noah Brown—a guy they were counting on to step up in the absence of the graduated or suspended playmakers of 2014. So, yeah, Ohio State was supposed to win this one. And after going into halftime down 17-14, they came storming back in the second half to claim the win—just like we all expected. In theory, the win shouldn’t really seem all that special. [embedded content] But now here are, the morning after, and I actually think the rest of the nation ought to be scared—very scared, actually—about what this team is capable of not just in 2015, but every year that Urban Meyer decides to stick around in Columbus. Because on a night when they were without their best defensive player, on a night when they came into the game without a single proven playmaker on the flank, and on a night when the Buckeyes really did their best to keep the Hokies in the game, at least for a half, this team still managed to coast to what was, in the end, a fairly easy win—and they did so against a pretty good team playing in front of the most frenzied environments in the nation…
Continue Reading: Urban Meyer Has Ohio State Playing At Its Absolute Peak
