Urban Meyer didn't say he felt anything different over the first two days of practice this week as Ohio State prepares for a trip to Wisconsin. It's not supposed to be that way, with the pads on and intense drills building as the Buckeyes install a game plan.
“Tuesday, Wednesday is all about practice, execution and getting ready to play,” Meyer said. ”It's a work day.”
Meyer called the vibe around the Woody Hayes Athletic Center this week "pretty workmanlike," as expected from the No. 2 team in the country. But even he can't deny that there will be a different vibe in a few days when he boards a plane with his team and heads north for a prime-time matchup with the No. 8 Badgers under the lights.
“That's the laser-like focus to win a game against a very good team, on the road, it better be laser-like focus on the task at hand.”– Urban Meyer
“If you asked me on a Friday, starts getting a little jumpy and all that,” Meyer said. “Guys getting excited. I'm sure they're excited.”
Most of Meyer's team has never been to Madison, with so many freshmen on the roster and the last time Ohio State went there being in the coach's first season in Columbus, 2012. The Buckeyes left Camp Randall Stadium with a 21-14 overtime victory that night, a game that kicked off at 3:30 p.m. Saturday's game is at 8 p.m., another facet to what Meyer called a "top-5 or top-6 environment" in college football.
“That was pretty nuts for a 3:30 p.m. kick,” Meyer said. “So it's going to be loud, really loud.”
That's why Meyer and his staff pasted the sign you see above all across the facility this week. They did that ahead of Ohio State's clash at Oklahoma too, another night game against a top-15 opponent. That worked out well for the Buckeyes, who won convincingly 45-24.
“The Oklahoma game, I feel like we out-prepared them [and] that's what sort of what we have to do this week for us to win,” safety Malik Hooker said on Wednesday.
Meyer said there is a reason that the sign doesn't grace the wall all the time. He wants his players to understand when they walk into the facility that their work week entails a step up in intensity.
“It's ESPN Gameday, it's a night game, we're getting asked questions about the crowd and stuff,” Meyer said. “Just to, that's as much for the coaches as it for the players.
“That's the laser-like focus to win a game against a very good team, on the road, it better be laser-like focus on the task at hand.”
A video flashed across the screen above the indoor practice field stressing another motivational tactic, one more example of how important the game is against Wisconsin.
This video was flashing on loop all day at Ohio State's practice in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center: pic.twitter.com/PiwNuAlCt5
— Eric Seger (@EricSeger33) October 12, 2016
The team puts the finishing touches on its game plan Thursdays, before a light walk-through the next day and in this week's case, a trip to Madison. Routine is a lifeblood to a program, as much as recruiting and installing a plan to beat your opponent. It is non-stop.
“We feel like if you out-prepare yourself and do that every week, I feel like there is no way that you can't get better and go out there and do what you're supposed to do,” Hooker said.
Added Meyer: “That's just constant reminders about focus on your job description.That's for the players as well as the coaches. As well as the head coach.”
