When Raekwon McMillan flipped on his television and tuned to ESPN to learn Ohio State's postseason fate on Sunday, he wasn't so sure the Buckeyes were going to be included in the College Football Playoff.
“Penn State did an awesome job coming back in the Big Ten Championship Game. Going into Sunday I didn’t really know what was going to happen, what the committee was going to do,” Ohio State's star middle linebacker said on Tuesday. “But we’ve been blessed with the opportunity to play in the College Football Playoff so hopefully we can take it on from here.”
The No. 3 Buckeyes began their preparations for the Clemson Tigers on Tuesday, 25 days before kickoff between the two programs comes to pass in the Fiesta Bowl. A new sign flashing the daily countdown above the phrase "9 Strong" flickered on the video board, was posted on doors and other walls around the facility and players were soaked with sweat as they stressed and grabbed protein shakes.
Urban Meyer's team senses an opportunity it didn't have last year. There isn't time to waste on chasing it.
“People in our program, we know what we have to work on. So during this offseason and bowl season right now, be able to focus on those things, work on the fundamentals of those and put what we work on into the game plan as we get ready for Clemson.”– Billy Price
“We’re full go. As you can see everybody is pretty worn out, we went hard,” Sam Hubbard said. “Coach Meyer said he guarantees no other team practiced like we did today and I’m pretty sure that’s true. Just focusing on fundamentals and staying in shape.”
Hubbard was more confident than McMillan that Ohio State's name would flash on the screen this past Sunday, signaling the team's return to the Playoff. Meyer's program won the first-ever College Football Playoff two years ago but missed out in 2015 despite 12 NFL Draft picks present on the roster.
Meyer said on Sunday he intends to keep a similar schedule as two years ago with potentially two more games left in the season. But he and his staff pushed their players extensively on Tuesday after a weekend off. With three and a half weeks between now and New Year's Eve, there is plenty of time for work particularly on the mental side of the game. Players have only started sifting through Clemson's film, which is why Tuesday's practice was all about knocking the rust off and pushing the envelope.
“It’s hard to go study anything because we don’t have nothing to look off of in terms of film,” cornerback Gareon Conley said. “But going against our offense, it’s kind of like Clemson’s offense, it kind of helps us. Gives us an advantage.”
Conley, McMillan and Hubbard are all tasked with stopping Heisman Trophy finalist and Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson and a high-powered Tiger offense that attacks defenses from all different directions. But as Meyer reiterated Sunday, the first week of bowl prep is about keeping players in shape and harping the fundamentals—a sometimes difficult ask with no game waiting on Saturday as a reward.
“As you can see with the new signs all around, the amount of days we have to get ready and be nine strong. We got 25 now,” Hubbard said. “[Wednesday] when we wake up we’ll have 24 days. That’s the attitude we’re going to have this bowl season.”
Days will turn into weeks and soon enough Christmas will arrive and a trip to Phoenix along with it. The Buckeyes no longer have to worry about the fact they didn't play in the Big Ten Championship and whether or not that could keep them out of the Playoff. Regardless of the amount of confidence each individual player had on Sunday before the show began on ESPN, they made it.
Now is the time to stress the intensity and hone the fundamentals and other areas that caused issues late in the season in order to beat Clemson.
“[We're] catching a lot of heat for some weaknesses, and that’s a good thing we have those things. It’s a good thing we have those things,” guard Billy Price said. “People in our program, we know what we have to work on. So during this offseason and bowl season right now, be able to focus on those things, work on the fundamentals of those and put what we work on into the game plan as we get ready for Clemson.”
