Two years after the fact, Ohio State is still drawing motivation from its horrendous 2011 season. The year included the most losses since 1897 and the first loss to Michigan in eight years, as well as many other gory details. Throughout the school-record 23-game win streak, the Buckeyes have looked back at 2011 with inspiration.
On Saturday, they are able to avenge the biggest blemish from that forgettable season by winning in Michigan Stadium.
Michael Bennett remembers Michigan fans waving dollar bills at Ohio State players. Even though he was dressed in scarlet and gray and part of the football team, Bennett’s dislike toward the Wolverines was neutral. That is until that trip to Ann Arbor in 2011.
“Then I bought in,” he said.
Jack Mewhort may be more well-versed on the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry than any other player on the team. He’s been at Ohio State for five years now after growing up on the frontlines of The Game in the battleground city of Toledo. When you reside that close to fans of both schools, it’s a given that you’ll have friends who cheer for both teams. But Mewhort said that’s no longer an issue – or else.
“I think all my friends, if they were fans of that school, they're more fans of me now,” he said. “They switched their allegiances. I don't think anyone I'm really that close with is fans of That School Up North. If I find out, we're going to have a problem.”
Mewhort and his teammates travel north this season on a mission. With a possible berth in the national championship game at stake, the focus during game week was nothing short of intense. At any mention of the BCS, Michigan State or another subject that wasn’t the maize and blue, coaches and players quickly moved the conversation back to Michigan.
“It’s built on 110 years of playing. It’s a storied tradition and we’re all blessed to be part of it.” -- C.J. Barnett
The demeanor of the team is a stark contrast to two years ago. The Buckeyes were already a five-loss team and turmoil was in the air causing Ohio State to become discombobulated.
“It’s completely different [this year],” Bennett said. “We were going there and we were kind of reeling. I feel like where we are now, a really strong team getting better every week, the confidence is through the roof.”
Senior safety C.J. Barnett called the 2011 game “heartbreaking” and said the Buckeyes let “the great state of Ohio down.” Earlier this week head coach Urban Meyer said sometimes something must be taken from you to realize how important it was. Complacency is an easy problem to pick up when success is a given.
“We might have taken them for granted thinking that Ohio State had won seven years straight, so we really didn’t think they were much of a factor,” Bennett said. “But I feel like now we know not to take them lightly. Now we know every year we have to give them our best shot."
When Ohio State ventured back to the locker room that day, center Corey Linsley said it was a state of shock. Suddenly, the moment arrived. No one had experienced a loss to the Wolverines and it came at a faster rate than the Buckeyes expected.
“You never want to lose a game. Obviously losing that one was tough,” Mewhort said. “I don't have amnesia about it, I definitely remember it. Any time you go on the road, you want to come back with a big win, especially this one.”
Coaches have preached that slogan since the forward pass was created. Meyer, a two-time national champion, understands and appreciates just how difficult the process of manufacturing a national champion is. Neither of his title-winning teams at Florida went undefeated. He’s also been through the unique situation of playing a rival the week before an all-important conference championship game.
To many on the outside, Saturday has all the ingredients of a trap game for Ohio State. Inside the halls of the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, that kind of talk draws chuckles. The Michigan game draws attention like no other. Walk into the football facility in February, July or November and the giant mural just outside the locker room dedicated to The Game, complete with a countdown clock, acts as a centerpiece.
“It’s built on 110 years of playing,” Barnett said. “It’s a storied tradition and we’re all blessed to be part of it.”
