Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer isn't one to sugarcoat things. For the most part, he tends to be brutally honest and blunt when he speaks on a particular subject.
So when Meyer called the Buckeyes' opponent on Saturday, Northern Illinois, a "Big Ten-caliber team" on Wednesday night after practice, that's probably how he actually feels toward the Huskies. And, to further justify that, recent seasons seem to deem Meyer's theory accurate.
| YEAR | OPPONENT | SCORE |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | at Northwestern | 23-15 |
| 2013 | at Iowa | 30-27 |
| 2013 | at Purdue | 55-24 |
| 2010 | at Minnesota | 34-23 |
Over the past five seasons, the Huskies have gone 4-3 in games against the Big Ten. All four of those victories against Big Ten schools have come on the road and Northern Illinois has secured wins over Northwestern, Iowa, Purdue and Minnesota since the 2010 season. Three of those wins have come in the last two seasons.
Obviously Ohio State is not any of those teams. The Buckeyes are much more talented and much deeper than any of those teams the Huskies have defeated in recent years.
But make no mistake about it: Ohio State is well aware of the recent success Northern Illinois has had.
"We've talked about that, and they've beat them on the road, too," Ohio State defensive tackle Tommy Schutt said. "That's something that we talked about Sunday after we watched the Hawai'i film. We talked about their success and how successful they've been the past few years especially against Big Ten teams on the road. That's definitely something we talked about and is in the back of our minds."
The Huskies have won at least 11 games in every season for the past five years and have played in five-straight Mid-American Conference championship games, winning three. Northern Illinois also made a trip to the Orange Bowl in 2012, falling to Florida State, 31-10.
The Huskies feature a high-powered offense, averaging 47.5 points and 594 yards per game. Talking to the Buckeyes' players and coaches, it certainly doesn't appear like Northern Illinois is going to surprise Ohio State.
"They run a lot of different formations and they're a tough group," defensive tackle Adolphus Washington said. "The head coach is an offensive line guy and he prides himself on the offensive line so the defense has got to be ready to go."
Just last week, two teams from Northern Illinois' conference — Toledo and Bowling Green — knocked off teams from Power 5 conferences. The Rockets defeated Arkansas and the Falcons beat Maryland.
Again, those two schools aren't Ohio State, but that doesn't mean the Buckeyes aren't prepping for Saturday's game lightly. Meyer and Co. are fully aware of the success the Huskies have had recently.
"I [coached] in that conference for two years, actually lost to them in '02. We had like a big win streak and we lost to them," Meyer said. "They're extremely well-coached, great players, big. ... Really good team, really good program."
