When Urban Meyer became the head coach at Bowling Green, he had to be educated about the Falcons’ historic rivalry with Toledo.
Meyer "had always heard" of Utah’s "Holy War" with BYU, but he had to learn more about that rivalry, too, when he became the Utes’ head coach. He had to immerse himself in the rivalry with "the school out west," that being Florida State, when he became the head coach at Florida.
When Meyer became the head coach at Ohio State, however, there was no education necessary on the Buckeyes’ biggest rivalry – that, of course, being the annual game with Michigan.
"This is one I didn't have to get educated," Meyer said during his Monday press conference, five days before this year’s edition of The Game. "It's always been, as long as I can remember, it's always been there."
By now, Meyer’s sixth year at Ohio State, you probably already know the Buckeye coach’s backstory: a native of Ashtabula, Ohio, Meyer grew up watching Ohio State football games regularly, especially when it came time for The Game.
If that wasn’t enough for Meyer to become familiar with the rivalry, he truly became ingrained in the rivalry in 1986 and 1987, when he was a graduate assistant on Earle Bruce’s final two teams at Ohio State.
"He was very important in my understanding of the game," Meyer said Monday, just one day away from the 30-year anniversary of Bruce’s final win over the Wolverines. "I was a fan until 1986 when I walked through the doors, and it was every day. And I learned that from him. I mean every day there's conversation about that team. And he taught me the intensity and the incredible respect – there's no one that respected the rivalry more than he did either. I learned that from him."
So when this reporter asked Meyer about his impressions of a pair of Michigan players as he started his film study this week, Ohio State’s coach clarified that his preparation for The Game – even though the Buckeyes have played 11 games before this game – had begun well before this week.
"We haven't just been starting our film study for the week," Meyer said. "It's been going on for a long time."
“It's always been, as long as I can remember, it's always been there.”– Urban Meyer on the rivalry
That might contradict with the Ohio State football program’s usual mantra of focusing on one week at a time, but as Meyer explained on Monday, the Michigan game isn’t one that just comes and goes in the week that it’s played.
"This rivalry is not a one-week deal," Meyer said. "I learned that from Woody Hayes, from Earle Bruce, from Jim Tressel. I just think it's in your blood. It's in your DNA."
Michigan has had some struggles this season, particularly on the offensive side of the ball, scoring 13 points or less in each of its three losses, including a loss to Wisconsin this past Saturday. Meyer has no doubt, though, that the Buckeyes will get the Wolverines’ best when the two teams meet in Ann Arbor this Saturday at noon.
"Absolutely," Meyer said when asked whether he thought Michigan would play its best game of the year. "That's the history of this game. Both teams play their best."
