The celebration of perhaps the biggest win of the Urban Meyer era began on the sideline, where players dumped a frigid bucket of Gatorade on the Ohio State head coach.
Not long after, the party poured onto the field where players bounced and shrieked and hugged and beamed.
Then it was corralled in a corner at Spartan Stadium, in front of those who made the trip north to watch Ohio State topple Michigan State on a freezing and damp night in East Lansing. They danced and sung before sprinting back to the locker room to dance and sing some more.
Upon avenging a loss to Michigan State last season and notching a pivotal, signature win, there was reason to observe and bask in the moment Saturday night. Sunday, too.
But since there could be bigger ones to follow, Meyer will spoil his team’s fun with the hope of ensuring it doesn’t spoil its season.
“We're done with the celebration part,” Meyer said Monday. “Now we're learning from it. And the players will receive their directive tomorrow and we're moving forward.”
Because of an enormous win against the Spartans, the path before Ohio State is one that weaves it through the thick of a fluid national picture. For now — and for really the first time — the Buckeyes find themselves firmly in the conversation. And with a potentially ominous game against upswing and 7-2 Minnesota this weekend, Meyer is treating the week with sense of frantic urgency to avoid a letdown in Minneapolis.
“That’s the time you’ve got their attention,” he said Tuesday. “You don’t have to worry about bruised egos.”
Added Meyer Monday: “That's the thing that Lou Holtz would always say; and this is where I think coaches make a lot of mistakes. You don't just go blow the whole thing up when you lose a game. That's fragile. You coach them really hard when you win.
“So you say how difficult, it's not difficult at all. You lose that game Saturday, it's really difficult. Now you've got problems. Now you've got motivation problems. So it's all the way we handle it and the good thing is I've got nine good coaches and — more importantly — I have players that understand we didn't play as well as we could on defense and we expect to play much better. Two weeks ago we didn't play as well on offense. There's plenty to work on.”
Otherwise, a celebration that was two-and-half years in the making could be all for none. In today’s college football landscape, things change quickly and change dramatically.
Two months ago, Ohio State was — and rightfully so — made castaways after losing to a Virginia Tech team that's 4-5.
“That early in the season we were not a great team. We had a quarterback that was a quarterback for about two weeks and did not play very well. We had an offensive line that played horrible that game and a group of receivers that were not ready to play,” Meyer said.
After beating Michigan State, the Buckeyes vaulted themselves back into the top 10 of the coaches and AP polls. A national buzz surrounds them now. Their momentum is building.
“This is the most improved team that I've been a part of. This is a team that — I've been fortunate to be around some championship level teams, (and) they have a common characteristic and they're grinders," Meyer said. "And they get better each week. Those are championship level teams."
But teams that win titles, Meyer said, win games like the upcoming one against the Golden Gophers.
“This could all be gone if we don't go out and continue to do what we do," Meyer said. "But I do know a championship-level team. A team continues to grow like they are, like this, there's no question this is one of them.”
Ohio State gets another chance to prove it.
