They say winning breeds more winning, but at times it can even bring an overbearing expectation that such success isn't good enough if doesn't necessarily look the way it's supposed to look.
"I'm sure everybody's got opinions. You won 38-0. What the heck happened? We didn't play very well, but on defense we played outstanding," Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer said Monday. "Kicking game was pretty good. We had two penalties on kickoffs. So what do you do? We work at it."
That 38-0 victory came at the hands of Hawai'i, a battle in Ohio State's season opener Saturday when oddsmakers put the Buckeyes at 40-plus points favorites in the week leading up to the game.
The Buckeyes offense at times look disorganized, assignments were missed and opportunities fell by the wayside. Fans grew restless, some even booing starting quarterback Cardale Jones. Ohio State tallied 363 yards to total offense, a far cry from what they've grown accustomed to seeing.
“I'm sure everybody's got opinions. You won 38-0. What the heck happened? We didn't play very well, but on defense we played outstanding. Kicking game was pretty good. We had two penalties on kickoffs. So what do you do? We work at it.”– Urban Meyer
In the end, however, the Buckeyes came out on top against the Rainbow Warriors behind a stout defensive effort, doing so on a short week after playing Sept. 7 at Virginia Tech.
"The first thing (Meyer) said is ‘How cool is it that we’re at a school and we play for a team that we win 38-0, we're upset with that?’" senior left tackle and captain Taylor Decker said Monday. "But it is hard to win in college football games. Every team is going to have good players and they are going to make plays. Things aren’t going to be perfect. Even in a big win when you feel like you did everything right, you can still learn from those games."
Ohio State lost a pair of first-place votes in the AP poll to fellow conference member Michigan State, but still have a firm grip on the top spot. With perennial MAC power Northern Illinois saddling up for a trip to Ohio Stadium Saturday, though, Meyer is wary of the ugly errors that happened against Hawai'i.
"Their video is very good. They're a very good team. Offensively, their quarterback is setting all kinds of records," Meyer said of the Huskies and quarterback Drew Hare. "Our players will respect them. I don't anticipate a problem with that. Because they're good. That's the thing, they're 11-win teams. They've beaten Northwestern, Purdue, Iowa, and Minnesota, and they beat — I wouldn't call those upsets. I think these guys are very good."
Northern Illinois has posted at least 11 wins in each of the last five seasons and won the MAC three times. They're no slouch.
"He can sling it a little bit," linebacker Darron Lee said Monday of Hare. "A bunch of juniors and seniors. Just have to be on our game, really. Just like any other game. I'm sure they'll come in here ready to take a shot at us. We'll be prepared."
A full, normal week of game prep is something Ohio State hasn't had yet in 2015, with playing the Hokies a week ago and then hosting Hawai'i five days later.
"It's going to make a big difference. We get to start the week off tough, a little hitting, little banging," Curtis Samuel said Monday. "Then toward the end of the week it's time to start cleaning things up, getting sharp and getting ready for the game."
Meyer called the short week before the home opener "awful," and appealed the NCAA to let him work with his team last Tuesday to no avail. Back to normal now, it's full bore into the Huskies, who will be anything but intimidated when they walk into Ohio Stadium Saturday.
"We've got to get much better in certain areas. We reward the champions, spend a bunch of time on that, make sure we appreciate the great efforts, and then we've got to get better," Meyer said. "I will say this. It's good to be in a routine. We're glad to be back in our routine now."
