Urban Meyer is 50-4 at Ohio State. The most games he lost in a single season? Two in 2013.
Yet Ohio State just lost 12 players to the NFL draft, including three other undrafted free agents. Its 2016 slate would be brutal for a veteran team, let alone one so green:
| Date | TIME | Opponent | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAT 09/03/16 | TBA | BOWLING GREEN | Ohio Stadium (Columbus) |
| SAT 09/10/16 | TBA | TULSA | Ohio Stadium (Columbus) |
| SAT 09/17/16 | TBA | OKLAHOMA | Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium (Norman, OK) |
| SAT 10/01/16 | Noon | RUTGERS | Ohio Stadium (Columbus) |
| SAT 10/08/16 | TBA | INDIANA | Ohio Stadium (Columbus) |
| SAT 10/15/16 | 8 p.m. | WISCONSIN | Camp Randall Stadium (Madison, WI) |
| SAT 10/22/16 | 8 p.m. | PENN STATE | Beaver Stadium (State College, PA) |
| SAT 10/29/16 | 5:30 p.m. | NORTHWESTERN | Ohio Stadium (Columbus, OH) |
| SAT 11/05/16 | 8 p.m. | NEBRASKA | Ohio Stadium (Columbus, OH) |
| SAT 11/12/16 | TBA | MARYLAND | Maryland Stadium (College Park, MD) |
| SAT 11/19/16 | TBA | MICHIGAN STATE | Spartan Stadium (East Lansing, MI) |
| SAT 11/26/16 | TBA | MICHIGAN | Ohio Stadium (Columbus, OH) |
Add these things together, and it's easy to see why non-Ohio State fans could expect a Buckeye regression this year.
According to Las Vegas casino the Golden Nugget (via ESPN's David Payne Pardum) the over–under of Ohio State's 2016 win total is set at 8.5, which means you're betting on Urban Meyer to lose as many (or more) games this year as he has since 2011. The last time Meyer lost more than four games was in 2010 while coaching Florida when the Gators lost five.
Other interesting totals; * denotes a neutral site game:
| SCHOOL | OVER–UNDER | SCHEDULE |
|---|---|---|
| TENNESSEE | 10 | Appalachian State, Virginia Tech, Ohio, Florida, at Georgia, at Texas A&M, Alabama, at South Carolina, Tennessee Tech, Kentucky, Missouri, at Vanderbilt |
| CLEMSON | 10 | at Auburn, Troy, South Carolina State, at Georgia Tech, Louisville, at Boston College, N.C. State, at Florida State, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, at Wake Forest, South Carolina |
| FLORIDA STATE | 10 | Mississippi*, Charleston Southern, at Louisvilla, South Florida, North Carolina, at Miami (FL), Wake Forest, Clemson, at N.C. State, Boston College, at Syracuse, Florida |
| OKLAHOMA | 10 | Houston*, Louisiana–Monroe, Ohio State, at Texas Christian, Texas, Kansas State, at Texas Tech, Kansas, at Iowa State, Baylor, at West Virginia, Oklahoma State |
| ALABAMA | 9.5 | Southern California*, Western Kentucky, at Missisippi, Kent State, Kentucky, at Arkansas, at Tennessee, Texas A&M, at Louisiana State, Mississippi State, Chattanooga, Auburn |
| LOUISIANA STATE | 9.5 | Wisconsin*, Jacksonville State, Mississippi State, at Auburn, Missouri, at Florida, Southern Mississippi, Misssippi, Alabama, at Arkansas, South Alabama, at Texas A&M |
| MICHIGAN | 9.5 | Hawaii, Central Florida, Colorado, Penn State, Wisconsin, at Rutgers, Illinois, at Michigan State, Maryland, at Iowa, Indiana, at Ohio State |
| NOTRE DAME | 9 | at Texas, Nevada, Michigan State, Duke, at Syracuse, at N.C. State, Stanford, Miami (FL), Navy, Army, Virginia Tech, at Southern California |
| BAYLOR | 9 | Northwestern, Southern Methodist, at Rice, Oklahoma State, at Iowa State, Kansas, at Texas, Texas Christian, at Oklahoma, Kansas State, at Texas Tech, at West Virginia |
| HOUSTON | 9 | Oklahoma*, Lamar, at Cincinnati, at Texas State, Connecticut, at Navy, Tulsa, Southern Methodist, Central Florida, Tulane, Louisville, at Memphis |
| LOUISVILLE | 9 | Charlotte, at Syracuse, Florida State, at Marshall, at Clemson, Duke, N.C. State, at Virginia, at Boston College, Wake Forest, at Houston, Kentucky |
| UCLA | 9 | at Texas A&M, UNLV, Brigham Young, Stanford, Arizona, at Arizona State, at Washington State, Utah, at Colorado, Oregon State, Southern California, at California |
| GEORGIA | 8.5 | North Carolina, Nicholls State, at Missouri, at Mississippi, Tennessee, at South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Florida, at Kentucky, Auburn, Louisiana–Monroe, Georgia Tech |
| OKLAHOMA STATE | 8.5 | Southeastern Louisiana, Central Michigan, Pittsburgh, at Baylor, Texas, Iowa State, at Kanasas, West Virginia, at Kansas State, Texas Tech, at Texas Christian, at Oklahoma |
| OREGON | 8.5 | California–Davis, Virginia, at Nebraska, Colorado, at Washington State, Washington, at California, Arizona, Southern California, Stanford, at Utah, at Oregon State |
| TEXAS CHRISTIAN | 8.5 | South Dakota State, Arkansas, Iowa State, at Southern Methodist, Oklahoma, at Kansas, Texas Tech, at Baylor, Oklahoma State, at Texas, Kansas State |
| OHIO STATE | 8.5 |
Personal note: I'm typing this from the downtown Columbus Greyhound station waiting for the first bus to Vegas with silk satchels of limited edition Warren G. Harding $1 coins to wager on Ohio State winning nine or more games this season. Let the slumber party on the Buckeyes continue until Urban Meyer is once again dabbing over the shattered sternum of Jim Harbaugh five months hence.
