It is difficult to find periods during a season where Urban Meyer lost back-to-back games. He doesn't lose much to begin with, but now in his 15th season as a head college football coach across four universities, there are only four instances where his teams did not win its next game after suffering a loss.
In his second season as head coach at Bowling Green, Meyer lost consecutive games on the road to Northern Illinois and South Florida in 2002. Five seasons later, his Florida Gators lost to Auburn and then fell at No. 1 LSU.
In 2010, Meyer's final season as head coach of the Gators, he lost three straight games for the only time in his career: at No. 1 Alabama, against No. 12 LSU and then again at home to Mississippi State. Florida finished 8-5 that season and Meyer took a one-year hiatus from coaching the season after.
And finally, the only time Ohio State lost back-to-back games under Meyer is in the 2013 season. The Buckeyes fell to Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship Game then Clemson in the Orange Bowl.
Meyer is an astounding 56-5 at Ohio State with his fifth loss coming against Penn State last Saturday, a 24-21 defeat on the road. The Buckeyes return home to face Northwestern this weekend with plenty of questions that need answered. Meyer hopes his team is angry as it takes the field to go against the Wildcats.
“I always make the comment, the times when you're winning, don’t get bored with winning,” Meyer said Tuesday on the Big Ten teleconference. “Don't get bored with the process of winning and the preparation it takes.”
We will learn how well Ohio State prepared to avoid back-to-back losses early Saturday afternoon. For now, here is a look at the way the Buckeyes responded under Meyer's watch to the other four losses in his tenure starting with the most recent.
Ohio State 42, Michigan 13
Nov. 28, 2015; Ann Arbor, Michigan
Loss: Michigan State 17, Ohio State 14
Ohio State's incomprehensible loss to the Spartans—who were without the services of star quarterback Connor Cook—came in a rainstorm at Ohio Stadium and prompted Meyer to remove offensive coordinator Ed Warinner from the sidelines and insert him alongside quarterbacks coach Tim Beck in the press box to call the plays.
A week after amassing just 132 total yards and five first downs against Michigan State, the Buckeyes romped over Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines with a monster rushing attack. Ezekiel Elliott carried 30 times for 214 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while J.T. Barrett followed suit with 19 rushes for 139 yards and three scores.
Barrett also threw a touchdown pass to Jalin Marshall and the Buckeyes welcomed Harbaugh to The Game with authority.
The 112th version of The Game wasn't close.
Ohio State finished the season 12-1 after a 44-28 defeat of Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl a little over a month later.
Ohio State 66, Kent State 0
Sept. 13, 2014; Columbus, Ohio
Loss: Virginia Tech 35, Ohio State 21
The overmatched Golden Flashes served as unfortunate punching bags for Ohio State early in the 2014 season. Coming off a loss to the Hokies in which Barrett threw three interceptions and got sacked seven times, an angry Ohio State team dismantled Kent State in every possible.
Ohio State racked up 628 total yards of offense and 33 first downs in the drubbing, scored in every quarter as the Golden Flashes turned the ball over three times. Kent State served as a perfect remedy for what ailed the Buckeyes the week prior against Virginia Tech.
Ohio State had an open weekend after its annihilation of Kent State then went on to win 12 more games including the Big Ten and National Championship.
Ohio State 34, Navy 17
Aug. 30, 2014; Baltimore
Loss: Clemson 40, Ohio State 35 in Orange Bowl
The Buckeyes and Meyer had to wait nearly nine months to get the poor taste out of their mouths following the loss (actually two losses, more on that in a moment) to Clemson in the Orange Bowl. Barrett made the first start of his career after taking a crash course in his development as Braxton Miller went down with a season-ending shoulder injury 10 days before the season opener.
Devin Smith stretches his legs.
Navy's triple option attack proved bothersome for Meyer's young team, which trailed 7-6 at halftime and then again 14-13 in the third quarter. Barrett threw for 226 yards and a pair of touchdowns (one to Devin Smith for 80 yards) on just 12 completions, Darron Lee returned a fumble 61 yards for a score and Ezekiel Elliott scored the first of his 18 touchdowns in 2014 against the Midshipmen.
Meyer didn't know it at the time but the win at M&T Bank Stadium served as the lone victory in a stretch where Ohio State lost three of four games.
Clemson 40, Ohio State 35
Jan. 1, 2014; Miami
Loss: Michigan State 34, Ohio State 24 in Big Ten Championship
The loss to the Tigers is the only time in Meyer's Ohio State tenure where the Buckeyes failed to win their next contest after falling the game before. Losing to Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship was Meyer's first loss as Ohio State head coach.
The Buckeyes could not stop Tajh Boyd or Sammy Watkins and failed to outscore a team that matched up with them athletically for the first time in the 2013 season. A month earlier, the Spartan defense forced Braxton Miller into tough situations where he had to throw the football to beat them and it did not happen.
In the Orange Bowl, Watkins racked up a record 227 yards receiving on 16 receptions to go with two touchdowns. Boyd finished with five passing touchdowns and added another on the ground. Miller threw touchdown passes to Carlos Hyde and Jeff Heuerman and ran for two more scores. A muffed punt by Philly Brown and interception by Miller shifted momentum to the Tigers late in the third after Boyd hit Watkins and Martavis Bryant for touchdowns.
Miller's 14-yard scoring toss to Hyde put Ohio State back ahead one more time 35-34 but he could not lead the Buckeyes to the end zone again after they found themselves behind 40-35.
As you can see, Meyer's track record after losing at Ohio State is nearly perfect. He hardly ever loses and typically finds a way to motivate his team back on the right side of the scoreboard the next week.
Northwestern represents the team on deck trying to give the Buckeyes consecutive losses for just the second time in the last five seasons. Meyer is anxious to see if his current crop of players can respond like those before them who lost a game.
“Depends on obviously the quality of guys on your team too. Those are very tough guys, tough, tough guys that when backed up into a corner they fought their way out,” Meyer said. “Every team is different and we'll find out. We're in this together. It's the staff and players. Tough coaches and tough players fight through things.”
