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Urban Meyer won a national championship at Ohio State, and he still keeps close tabs on the Buckeyes and maintains an administrative role in the athletic department. After Saturday’s loss to USC, he isn’t happy with what he saw.
On the latest episode of The Triple Option, Meyer said he’s “panicked” about the Buckeyes after their second loss of the season. But he didn’t put the blame on new starting quarterback Luke Fahey. Instead, he took aim at the rest of the team.
Ohio State Falls to USC
Ohio State entered Saturday’s game ranked No. 2 in the country but without starting quarterback Julian Sayin, who was injured against Indiana. USC, meanwhile, was coming off a blowout loss to Wisconsin. However, it was USC that looked like the better team across the board on Saturday night.
The Trojans scored on the second play of the game and beat the Buckeyes 30-18 at the Coliseum. Ohio State outgained USC 464 to 338 and ran for 204 yards, but the Buckeyes were flagged 11 times and kept settling for field goals in the red zone, which doomed their chances in the game.
The loss dropped Ohio State to 6-2, with Oregon coming to Columbus on Saturday as the Buckeyes try to keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive.
‘I’m Panicked’
During this week’s episode of The Triple Option, Meyer said he spoke with people at Ohio State after the game and that they were fine with how Fahey played. He said one staff member gave the quarterback “a B, solid B.”
“He missed a couple throws, but it was also a downpour. You know, it was also that, that was not a non-conference easy game. That was on the road, big stadium, big showcase game. And so, yeah, they said he played good enough to win that game,” Meyer said, on the show.
Meyer was more concerned with the defense, which gave up a 69-yard touchdown on a screen pass on USC’s opening drive.
“I mean, that’s day one install on defense. The D-coordinator and the staff go out there and they teach pursuit. You do that every week. And that was the most alarming to me, was the pursuit on the two big hits and the penalties. You fix those. I think Ohio State’s certainly talented enough. The quarterback played good enough to win, according to the staff at Ohio State, and those around him have to elevate. That didn’t happen and they lost,” Meyer said.
When asked if Buckeye fans should be worried, Meyer didn’t hesitate.
“Hell yeah. It’s time to panic. I’m panicked. I’m a Buckeye guy,” Meyer said.
Meyer said Fahey’s mistakes are fixable, but that the rest of the roster needs to step up.
“I tell you, if I’m the head coach and I’m on that staff, I’m so pissed off at the rest of the team. I mean, how do you do that? 15 penalties, that has nothing to do with the quarterback situation. Maybe not pursuing the ball on defense, that has nothing to do with the quarterback situation. Dropping balls. Yes, it was raining. Yes, it was windy. And yes, there was all kinds of excuses why you dropped the ball, but you have a backup quarterback. And the message has got to be in that locker room. I mean, we have all got to play our best version of ourselves, and that didn’t happen,” Meyer said.
That said, Meyer still thinks that Ohio State can bounce back from the loss.
“The good news is, are they good enough to keep going? Absolutely,” Meyer said, noting that Ohio State still controls its own destiny.
The post ‘It’s time to panic’: Urban Meyer does not hold back on Ohio State after loss to USC appeared first on The Comeback: Today’s Top Sports Stories & Reactions.
https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/time-panic-urban-meyer-does-145529025.html
