As a head coach, Urban Meyer has won 85 percent of his games so it’s probably not surprising to hear his bowl record is almost identical to that mark.
Throughout his 14 year-career, Meyer has posted a 9-2 record in bowl games — 82 percent. He has more national championship wins than he does bowl game losses. Give Meyer more than a month to prepare, and he’s, well, just as effective as he is when he has a week to get ready for a game.
Meyer is looking for his 10th career bowl victory Jan. 1 when Ohio State plays Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona. Though the Buckeyes may be disappointed they didn’t find themselves in the College Football Playoff and thus don’t have the opportunity to defend their national championship, playing the Fighting Irish isn’t a bad consolation prize. The Ohio State-Notre Dame game is the marquee matchup of all the non-CFP contests.
“Two legendary programs,” Meyer said of the Fiesta Bowl matchup. “Two programs I’m very familiar with and have great respect for the Fighting Irish. And a great bowl game. I’ve personally been there, I know Ohio State has a great tradition there, too. I’m very excited to do our best and play well.”
So, as bowl season approaches — the first game is Dec. 19 between Alcorn State and North Carolina A&T — let’s look at how Meyer has fared in the past at each of his schools in bowl games.
Bowling Green
Meyer’s first-ever head coaching opportunity came at Bowling Green during the 2001 season. He went 8-3 in that first year, but the Falcons were not invited to a bowl game. The following season, Meyer coached Bowling Green to a 9-3 record but again was not invited to the postseason. Despite compiling a 17-6 mark over two seasons before heading off to Utah, Meyer never coached in a bowl game with the Falcons.
Utah
Meyer’s first appearance in a bowl game came during his first year at Utah, when he led the Utes to a 10-2 mark and a trip to the Liberty Bowl. Utah defeated Southern Mississippi in that game, 17-0.
In his second year at Utah, Meyer went undefeated but as a team competing in a non-BCS conference, the Utes were not given the opportunity to play for a national championship. Instead, Utah went to the Fiesta Bowl — Meyer’s first trip to the Arizona-based bowl game — where it matched up with Pittsburgh. Meyer’s Utes blasted the Panthers, 35-7, to cap a perfect 12-0 season.
Florida
After two years in Utah, Meyer made his way down to Gainesville, Florida where he became the big-name coach that he is today.
Meyer’s first season with the Gators saw his team go 9-3 overall with a 31-24 win over Iowa in the Outback Bowl. The following year, though, Meyer made his biggest splash in the college football world when he won his first national championship with a 41-14 rout of Ohio State in the BCS National Championship Game.
Meyer experienced his first loss in a bowl game the following year, after a 9-4 season in 2007. The Gators lost the Capital One Bowl to Michigan, 41-35. In 2008, though, Meyer won another national championship at Florida as Tim Tebow led the Gators to a 24-14 win over Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl.
Florida was a heavy favorite in 2009 to repeat, but the Gators lost to Alabama in the SEC championship game and thus did not play for the national title that year. Instead, Meyer and Florida blasted Cincinnati in the Sugar Bowl, 51-24.
Meyer’s last season in Gainesville came in 2010 before he briefly stepped away from coaching. The Gators defeated Penn State in the Outback Bowl, 37-24, in Meyer’s final game as head coach.
Ohio State
After a one-year stint at ESPN, Meyer took the job as the Buckeyes’ head coach prior to the 2012 season. Ohio State was ineligible for postseason play that year due to NCAA sanctions, but Meyer went 12-0 in his first year in Columbus.
A crushing loss to Michigan State in the 2013 Big Ten championship game denied the Buckeyes the chance to play for the national title in Meyer’s second season at the helm. Ohio State went to the Orange Bowl that year and Meyer suffered only his second loss in a bowl game, falling 40-35 to Clemson.
Meyer scored a pair of bowl victories in 2014 as part of the first-ever College Football Playoff. Ohio State upset No. 1-ranked Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, 42-35, and then beat Oregon in the College Football Playoff national championship game, 42-20 to win Meyer’s third title.
So yes, Meyer has essentially been just as good in bowl games as he has in the regular season. In his 11 appearances in those bowl games, Meyer’s teams are scoring an average of 31.7 points per game while allowing an average of 22.1. That’s an average margin of victory of 9.6 points per game.
Meyer's .818 winning percentage in bowl games ranks No. 1 all time among coaches who have at least 10 appearances, according to Sports Reference. Former Boston College coach Tom O'Brien ranks second with a bowl game winning percentage of .800.
The 2016 Fiesta Bowl is just another opportunity for Meyer to add to a resume loaded with wins.
