Ohio State has won 60 games since J.T. Barrett, Tracy Sprinkle and the rest of the Buckeyes’ fifth-year seniors arrived on campus in 2013.
They don’t want their Ohio State careers to end without the Buckeyes winning a 61st.
"The bond we created coming in, (as a recruiting class) in 2013 … We built a bond throughout those years, and now this is our fifth year," Sprinkle said Saturday at Ohio State’s arrival press conference. "There's about seven or eight of us left. And we know for sure we want to go out with a bang. So we’re trying to get a win."
Given that the Buckeyes had their sights set on making the College Football Playoff and competing for a national title, and Friday’s Cotton Bowl against USC is a consolation prize, some have questioned whether a win on Friday really matters in terms of this year’s Buckeyes’ ultimate legacy.
 |
| USC TROJANS |
|
11-2, 8-1 PAC-12 ROSTER / SCHEDULE |
|
|
|
8:30 P.M. – FRIDAY, DEC. 29 AT&T STADIUM DALLAS, TEXAS |
|
|
|
ESPN WatchESPN |
Ohio State coach Urban Meyer is adamant that it does.
"It's very important," Meyer said Saturday. "It's a 12th win. It'll certainly be a top-five, top-four, top-three team (if Ohio State wins), a great team and a great season."
For Meyer, winning at least 12 games in a season has become an expectation, given that the Buckeyes have done so in all but one of his seasons (last season) as their head coach. He’s also never lost three games in a season in his six years at Ohio State, so he surely doesn’t want that to change.
A Cotton Bowl win would also give this year’s Buckeyes the legacy of snapping a seven-game losing streak against USC, as Ohio State has lost all seven of its matchups against the Trojans dating back to 1975.
"I didn’t know that, so definitely got to change that," said Ohio State safety Damon Webb when told of the Buckeyes’ losing streak against the Trojans earlier this month.
Beyond the legacy of Ohio State’s 2017 team as a whole, the other legacy that has been discussed all season and will likely continue to be discussed for years to come is the legacy of Buckeyes quarterback J.T. Barrett.
To some, Barrett’s legacy will be defined by his shortcomings in numerous big games over the past few seasons. To many, Barrett’s legacy will be defined by the records he has already broken, as he is already Ohio State’s all-time leading passer (9,320 passing yards), scorer (145 touchdowns responsible for) and winningest starting quarterback (37 wins), among other school records and Big Ten records. Meyer, though, believes that Barrett’s Ohio State legacy will be defined in part by whether he can cap off his Buckeye career with a victory over USC.
"I think that's going to be very important for his legacy, and play very well," Meyer said. "I love J.T., and he's done so much for me and so much for our program, I just want to see him go out, only one way to go out, and play really well."
"We know for sure we want to go out with a bang. So we’re trying to get a win.”– Tracy Sprinkle
At this point, nearly three whole weeks removed from the College Football Playoff announcement and less than a week removed from the Cotton Bowl, the Buckeyes aren’t thinking about what could have been anymore. Instead, their focus is solely on trying to finish their season – and in the case of seniors like Sprinkle, their careers – the right way.
"For us to be here back here, finishing the season strong and going out there and actually playing again in a bowl game, it's a true blessing," Sprinkle said. "We have a lot of seniors in this class that's kind of embedded our lives to this program. And I know the only way we want to go out is with a win, for the university and for the class, for us to be remembered."
Even for those who have the opportunity to return for another season and chase a championship one more time at Ohio State, like redshirt junior wide receiver Johnnie Dixon, the chance to win one more game with the players who won’t be back next year is motivation enough to go all-out for a win for Friday.
"It's still very exciting, because there's some guys that are not going to back next year, going to play in the NFL," Dixon said. "So being able to play with them one last time is a blessing. You're never going to have that again; you're never going to have that brotherhood. It won't be the same without some guys."
