Urban Meyer on Potential Contact by LSU: 'I'm Going to be the Coach at Ohio State'

On Monday, a report surfaced saying LSU planned to at least reach out to Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer about its new head coaching vacancy after firing Les Miles on Sunday.

And although a move to LSU was the unlikeliest of scenarios, Meyer was asked about the report Tuesday on the Big Ten coaches teleconference.

"No, I have not been contacted," Meyer said. "I'm going to be the coach at Ohio State."

That settles that. And now back to the rest of your regularly scheduled Tuesday programming.

Additional Meyer notes:

On defensive scores: "It's good players and good coaches. We don't believe there's coincidence or good fortune."
Meyer on what stands out most about Noah Brown: "Determination and the fact that he comes from a great family. Everyone here loves him so much."
On Rutgers offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer, who was a graduate assistant at Ohio State: "He's unique. Tom Herman, when I hired him, he said we had to get this guy and we got him. I love Drew."
Meyer on Rutgers and Chris Ash: "They're his guys now and I think they're playing their tails off."
On rugby-style tackling, which was brought to Ohio State by Ash. "Chris is the one that brought it to Coach Fickell and myself. We were a very average tackling team, he was persistent and we went from an average tackling team to the fewest missed tackles under Chris."

After Wisconsin–Michigan State headlined last weekend's Big Ten slate, the Badgers find themselves in another marquee matchup Saturday when they travel to play fourth-ranked Michigan.

In addition to Meyer, the Big Ten's 13 other coaches appeared on their weekly teleconference Tuesday. Some highlight's from each coach's portion of the call are listed below.

Pat Fitzgerald (Northwestern):

Fitzgerald was asked if the Big Ten is becoming more of a defensive league. "I think there's outstanding talent defensively. The defensive coaches in this league are very sound. You don't see, typically, a lot of guys running uncovered and guys running for 60, 70, 80 yards," he said.

Jim Harbaugh (Michigan):

Harbaugh on his friendship with Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst: "It goes back a long ways. ... It's been a family friendships, the Chrysts and the Harbaughs. Our dads were friends."
Harbaugh: "If somebody can't get along with Paul Chryst there's probably something wrong with them."
Harbaugh on the Michigan running backs: "They've all done a great job of not fumbling the ball. ... That's going to be a big factor this week with Wisconsin, the way they attack downhill and pursuit."
On this weekend's matchup with Wisconsin: "We're treating it as a big game. We're treating it as a championship-type game."
Harbaugh on the Wisconsin defense: "It looks like 11 Chris Borlands out there with the way they play."

Paul Chryst (Wisconsin):

Chryst on attacking Michigan's vaunted defense: "It's a heck of a challenge."
Chryst with a hot take on Big Ten defenses: "A good scheme with good players makes for a good defense."
On Wisconsin grasping the magnitude of Saturday's game: "I think one of the qualities that I appreciate from this group is every opportunity that we get to play is a big deal."
Chryst: "We don't have one player that's played at Michigan but they understand the opportunity to play against a top program or team.

Mike Riley (Nebraska):

Riley said Michael Rose-Ivey did "an awesome job" with his statement Monday regarding the backlash he received during the national anthem during Saturday's game.

Mark Dantonio (Michigan State):

Dantonio on containing Indiana: "IU has a good system and their quarterback plays within the system. It's going to be a challenge. There's great coaching done in this conference and throughout the rest of the country."
Dantonio on the message to his team after Wisconsin loss: "We still control our own destiny because that game was outside of our division."

Kirk Ferentz (Iowa):

Ferentz was asked if there was a chance injured wide receiver Matt VandeBerg would return this year. "I think he might have a chance bowl game time or that sort of thing," he said.

Tracy Claeys (Minnesota):

On Penn State running back Saquon Barkley: "They have a great one there."
Claeys asked about his team's 3-0 start: "Everybody has problems after three games."

Chris Ash (Rutgers):

Ash on the rugby-style tackling he brought to Ohio State: "A lot of the key to it is just belief in it."
Ash: "From a program standpoint, I had a very successful tenure that at Ohio State. I learned a lot from coach Meyer and the other assistants on that staff. It's an exceptional staff."
Ash: "I'd be foolish not to take a lot of what I learned at Ohio State because it works exceptionally well."
Ash was asked how ready he feels Rutgers is for Saturday's game against Ohio State. "I'll tell you when it's over."
Ash was asked if he's surprised at the success of some of the young, defensive players he coached at Ohio State: "No, not at all."

Lovie Smith (Illinois):

Smith: "We're disappointed in our 1-2 record."

DJ Durkin (Maryland):

Durkin said the Purdue game this week was "a big challenge."
Durkin asked what are some things he learned about his team during 3-0 start. "Probably the biggest thing was just how we responded to adversity in that UCF game," he said.

Darrell Hazell (Purdue):

Hazell asked about Purdue finally having a winning record at the end of September. "I think every day is a work in progress, but I feel like we have a good football team," he said. "They're playing hard and they're playing fast."

James Franklin (Penn State):

Franklin asked if next two weeks could make or break Penn State's season and totally sidestepped, saying, "We're excited about playing Minnesota this weekend."

Kevin Wilson (Indiana):