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COLUMBUS, Ohio – Rarely has a single season been so chaotic.
But for Ohio State and its coach Urban Meyer, there is always the game to wait. And even with all the malfunctions that have engulfed the Buckeyes this season – from suspension and Meyer's health problems to major defense deficiencies – the one thing that has not changed, is that it's not the same. is that Meyer and Michigan have the same properties as the state of Ohio. all other rivals during his career as head coach.
Meyer has once again registered the "Northern School" in the Wolverines '62-39 defeat on Saturday at Ohio Stadium, the Buckeyes' seventh consecutive win in a less and less important rivalry each year. And just like that, the Buckeyes will find themselves in the middle of the playoff hunt if they can beat Northwestern next week in the Big Ten Championship game.
"We are extremely proud of our players, the way they fought," Meyer said. "And as someone said, nothing is ever good enough, obviously we had a bit of adversity earlier in the year – not one, but a big one. adversity And to get back to your rival and play like that, it's a focused team that loves each other and cares about each other. "
"The adversity" evoked by Meyer included the fact that he had mishandled the allegations of spousal abuse from former wife of former assistant Zach Smith, Courtney Smith, causing a lengthy university investigation during the summer and, ultimately, the suspension of the three games of Meyer.
Even without Meyer for the first three games, the Buckeyes managed to win their first seven games before being outgassed by Purdue by 29 points, triggering a four-game streak in which the Buckeyes lost 137 points, culminating to a 52-51 breakaway overtime against Maryland last week.
Meyer looked visibly shaken on the sidelines during the Maryland match. He revealed earlier this month that he had been operated on in 2014 from a congenital arachnoid cyst to the brain and that he had arrived there with medication. The images of him leaning to the side and having to gather were painful to watch.
Meyer, however, showed no signs of discomfort on Saturday as the Buckeyes beat Michigan for the 14th time in 15 games.
"The last time they won against us, I was only a little boy," said the Ohio State's defensive tackle Said Dr. Jones. "We did not want to be part of the team that gave them their first" dubbing ".
Of course, with Meyer, the games of rivalry can as well be games of money for the team that trains. He is now 38-5 against his biggest rivals in Ohio State (Michigan, Penn State and Michigan State), Florida (Georgia, Florida State, and Tennessee) and Utah (BYU and Utah State).
Parris Campbell, who scored two of the Ohio State's seven touchdowns against a top-ranked Michigan defense, said the Buckeyes were "lying in weeds" all week. when everyone called them Team Turmoil. .
"We will never give up, no matter what people on the outside say," Campbell said. "We have gone through tons of adversity all year round, we have heard the doubt, we have heard the hatred, but we remain in harmony with ourselves, we remain close and continue to swing, and we are today the result of all that we've gone through. "
And for what it's worth, Meyer is still unbeaten when the Buckeyes are the underdogs.
"I mean, we did not need the underdog mark, we did not need the score [Michigan] vengeance tour. We did not need the guaranteed victory, "said quarterback Dwayne Haskins, who torched Michigan for 318 yards and five touchdowns," we know what this game means for our school, our teammates and our coaches. "
Michigan never really had the chance to stay on the offensive with the Buckeyes' fast playmakers. Most of the time, the Wolverines defensemen looked like they were running in quicksand, whether they were cut on crossing roads, deep roads, or a 78-yard touchdown by Campbell on a jet scan.
"From my point of view, I felt we could do anything we wanted in violation," Campbell said. "We had a momentum, we were driving, everything was open, and at the beginning of the second period we carried that and rolled with it."
Although this victory went to Meyer and the Buckeyes, it was also devastating for Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines. Harbaugh became the first coach in Michigan history to lose his first four games against the Ohio State, and that's the highest number of points Michigan has ever allowed in a regular game.
"I'm just lucky to be in this type of rivalry, the best part is to live my dream and play it," said Michigan Safety Tyree Kinnel, who comes from Huber Heights, in Ohio. "I would have liked to have two wins, it's the hardest part."
"I'm going to have to sleep on that the rest of my life."
Meanwhile, the rest of the country may want to make sure he does not sleep in a Ohio State team that seems to be organizing everything at the right time.
"We are still here, do not rely on us," said Isaiah Prince, an attacker from the state of Ohio.
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