If you would have asked Urban Meyer back in September if he thought his team could compete with Alabama, he may have looked at you like you were crazy.
Now, though? Not so much.
"After Week 3, probably not," Meyer said Thursday when speaking to the media for the first time since the day after the Big Ten championship game. "I thought at some point we were building (an Alabama-level team), but I made the comment I thought it was a year away."
But the fourth-ranked Buckeyes kind of skipped what was supposed to be their rebuilding year and now have a Jan. 1 date with No. 1 Alabama as part of the first-ever College Football Playoff. What's on the line is a chance to play for the national championship.
In order to get to that Jan. 12 national championship game, Ohio State will have to go through the top-ranked Crimson Tide. It's somewhat symbolic Alabama is ranked as the No. 1 team in the country this season, too, being that it has been at the pinnacle of college football over the last decade winning three national titles.
“They’ve been winning national championships. They’ve been there and they’ve done this so many years in a row that they kind of know what to do," Ohio State safety Tyvis Powell said. "It’s up to us to come out there and match their intensity, be more physical and show that the SEC speed isn’t really different and that football is football.”
But Ohio State isn't at all intimidated by Alabama's recent success. In fact, it welcomes the challenge of facing an opponent of the Crimson Tide's caliber.
"We’re just going to go out there and give them our best shot," wide receiver Devin Smith said. "I don't get all into who's the better conference, or who’s the better team. I feel confident in my team and I’m sure players on their team feel the same way. We’re just going to go out there Jan.1 and try to put on a good show."
Like they were against Michigan State and Wisconsin, the Buckeyes are underdogs against Alabama. But that hasn't changed the way Ohio State has gone about its business and the preparation for the Crimson Tide has been no different.
"It is just the same approach, I don't think they are going to change their approach. We attack every game the same way," running back Ezekiel Elliott said. "We have been underdogs this season when a lot of people have not believed in us and if it was losing Braxton (Miller) or losing J.T. (Barrett), a lot of people had lost faith in us and all we have is each other right now. Keep this brotherhood together and we are going to keep grinding and keep pushing."
