Buckeyes heading to the desert
The Buckeyes missed out on the College Football Playoff and even on the Rose Bowl but may have one of the most intriguing bowl games of the year with a Fiesta Bowl date with the Fighting Irish.
Going into this season everyone had the Buckeyes penciled in to the College Football Playoff but that was not meant to be after a tough loss to Michigan State in the second to last week of the regular season. The Buckeyes found out on Sunday afternoon that their bowl destination will be to Glendale (Ariz.) and the Fiesta Bowl to take on the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame in a game that promises to be high drama between two teams that don't like one another.
The Buckeyes and Fighting Irish have met five times in the past and the Buckeyes are up 3-2 in the series and have won the last three games including one at the Fiesta Bowl in January of 2006. Notre Dame won the first two games with Ohio State in the 1930's but the Buckeyes have had Notre Dame's number since then with three straight.
"It is two legendary programs, programs that I am very familiar with," Urban Meyer said during a Sunday afternoon press conference. "I have great respect for the Fighting Irish. And a great bowl game, I have personally been there and I know Ohio State has a great tradition there as well. I am very excited."
The Buckeyes fell to No. 7 in the College Football Playoff rankings and saw the Iowa Hawkeyes get the berth to the Rose Bowl instead of idle Buckeyes. Meyer said in the past that he has never had a chance to coach in the Rose Bowl and would have liked an opportunity but even with that, he is very excited to take this team to the Fiesta Bowl.
"(There is) no disappointment. You start talking about that level of football and that level of bowl game and that level of opponent that you are going to play and you get locked on with laser lights on you opponent and get going," Meyer added.
A little housekeeping news came out in the press conference. Meyer said that Ed Warinner would likely coach from upstairs like he did in the Michigan game but that no deep conversations had taken place at this point. He also was hesitant to comment on Chris Ash's move to Rutgers since that move had been not been announced officially yet but was very complimentary of the two-year assistant at Ohio State and did confirm that Ash would be part of the coaching staff for the Fiesta Bowl.
The Buckeye senior class is in a unique position where a win on New Year's Day could lock up a 50th win over a four-year span, a number that is hard to fathom and harder to reach in the days before seasons that would go beyond 12 games total. The seniors are focused on getting to that number and Meyer feels that the disappointment of not getting into the playoff really is already a non-issue based on how the Buckeyes looked preparing for Michigan a week ago.
"I think a good indication is how did they play in our rivalry game and they played their tails off," Meyer said. "This is an exceptional group that came up a few seconds short in a game against a very good team obviously. Finish what you start and find a way to earn a 12th win."
