On a cold, cloudy and windy morning in January, exit ramps off the highways funneling into Ohio State’s sprawling campus became came to a halt as cars from every part of the city made a pilgrimage to Ohio Stadium Saturday.
Their cause, which drew an estimated 45,000, was to celebrate the school’s first national championship under head coach Urban Meyer and the first title in more than a decade.
Which is why, when Meyer said he suggested the school move the event indoors, athletic director Gene Smith said he underestimated the “power of Buckeye Nation.”
Meyer, whose hoisting of four different trophies during the spectacle was almost silly, offered a brief speech. Not long after, he called upon a handful of select players to take a bow before the masses. Wide receiver Evan Spencer was made a captain, walk-on Nik Sarac was showered with praise for selflessness. Ezekiel Elliott and Joey Bosa, who Meyer referred to as a pair of his “super sophomores” drew loud and long cheers.
But the biggest roars of the spectacle came for Ohio State’s quarterback trio of Braxton Miller, J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones. Meyer called them the “magnificent three.”
When Miller, who was once Ohio State’s star quarterback before a season-ending injury cast him into the shadows behind his backups, rose from his seat, he pulled down his hood and threw his hands up in the air. He leaned over the lectern on the stage and said, “It’s been a privilege and an honor. But guess what: We’ve got another year to do it.”
The moment was met with a thunderous applause before Meyer brought forth Barrett and Jones, who replaced Miller last season and combined for 51 touchdowns.
But the largest cheers of the afternoon were for Miller, a two-time Big Ten Player of the Year, a preseason Heisman Trophy candidate who and the been subject of transfer rumors of late, who appeared to indicate he may indeed return for a fifth and final year.
“I guess that’s what he said,” Meyer said after the event. “We’ve been talking all along. It’s a unique situation.”
So was Ohio State’s entire campaign, which looked like it might be derailed after it lost Miller. Instead, the Buckeyes rallied past a loss to Virginia Tech for 13-straight wins — a span that yielded them a Big Ten title, a Sugar Bowl win over No. 1 Alabama and their first national championship since 2002.
"This is the most selfless group of players and people" Meyer said, "that I have ever been around."
And as lyrics like "summer's heat or winter's cold / the seasons pass, the years will roll" from the school's alma mater of "Carmen Ohio" rang throughout the Horseshoe for one last time this season, it’s a reminder of how Ohio State — which opens spring camp in less than two months with 16 returning starters — is gearing up to do it all over again.
