When it comes to beating Michigan in The Game, no one is a better authority on that subject than Urban Meyer.
In his seven-year tenure as Ohio State’s head coach, Meyer beat Michigan seven straight times. So as Ohio State looks to bounce back from back-to-back losses to Michigan for the first time since the end of John Cooper’s tenure with the Wolverines, it’s only natural that Meyer would be asked what the Buckeyes need to do to bounce back.
To Meyer, the answer to that is simple: The Buckeyes need to control the line of scrimmage, which they haven’t in either of their last two meetings with the Wolverines.
“What have you got to do to beat them? You gotta control the line of scrimmage. And Ryan and I have talked about that,” Meyer said Thursday night after participating in an Ohio State coaches’ roundtable alongside Ryan Day, Jim Tressel and John Cooper at the Ohio State coaches’ clinic. “He did a really cool thing with the team and he reviewed that with the team, what are the 10 bullet points of a winning game? And number one is always going to be control the line of scrimmage.”
While Michigan’s own improvement has had a lot to do with its success against the Buckeyes, as the Wolverines have made the College Football Playoff in back-to-back seasons after never previously making the CFP, Meyer would push back against any notion that beating Michigan was easier when he was Ohio State’s coach. He says he always prepared for the Wolverines like they were one of the best teams in the country, and that preparation showed in the Buckeyes’ results.
“I’ve said this many times, I’d argue with anybody, I'm not sure there’s anybody that’s ever respected that rivalry more than I have. I studied it. We had our own board everywhere about who they recruited, what they were doing offensively and defensively. We had one coach, that’s all he did is watch them year-round. So when someone said, ‘Well, the team up north wasn't very good,’ I would look and say ‘You don't really understand this rivalry,’” Meyer said. “They're always good. If someone said they're not very good, then usually that conversation ends quickly. Because first of all, that guy doesn't respect the rivalry. So they're very good. That's one of the top programs in America, they got a great coach and it’s a great rivalry.”
Overall, though, Meyer believes the job of being Ohio State’s coach is harder now for Day than it was for any of his predecessors because of how college football has changed and how the world as a whole – Meyer specifically mentioned the impact of social media – has changed. And he responded both authoritatively and concisely when asked if he thinks Day, who was an assistant to Meyer for two seasons before becoming the Buckeyes’ head coach, is the right man for the job.
“No doubt,” Meyer replied. “No doubt. No one better.”
Meyer, who returned to Fox Sports as a college football analyst last season after his one season coaching the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars in 2021, has no plans to return to coaching himself, saying “that book’s closed.” But he remains in touch with Day on a regular basis and continues to follow the Buckeyes closely because of his connections with Ohio State’s coaching staff, also including quarterbacks coach Corey Dennis, who is married to his daughter Nicki.
“I pull for them,” Meyer said. “So proud of the way they recruit. This is next-level stuff, especially offensively.”
When asked if he spoke with Meyer after last year’s 45-23 loss to Michigan, Day indicated that he did but that it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary for him to speak with Meyer after a game – especially after a big game.
“We talk all the time, for sure, and we discuss all types of things,” Day said. “Talk after wins, talk after losses. ‘Cause there's so much to process. After a win; after a loss, certainly. And the bigger games, the more we talk.”
