OSU coach Urban Meyer talks on the sidelines during a game against Illinois Nov. 16 at Memorial Stadium. OSU won, 60-35. Credit: Ritika Shah / Asst. photo editor
Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer is not ready to talk about his team’s national championship chances.
Meyer sidestepped yet another question about what the rest of the country thinks about his team, and if the fact that the last two times OSU (10-0, 6-0) played for the national championship (2007, 2008) has crossed his mind. Instead, he elected to talk about how running backs redshirt-freshman Warren Ball and freshman Ezekiel Elliott need to get better at tackling to help the punt team.
“Ezekiel on our punt team, I have to teach him how to tackle. Warren Ball is running down on kickoff,” Meyer said, to chuckles from the media. “He hasn’t done that in his high school career. We’re going to work hard on that in practice. Any other questions about Warren Ball’s coverage?”
One thing Meyer did comment on was the Bowl Championship Series, which is in its final year of selecting the two teams who play for the national title.
“Without spending much time on it, because it’s not fair for our team to do that, I will say this: I think it’s a flawed system,” Meyer said. “When you logically think about it, what the BCS people have done, which obviously we’re all part of it, I think it was great for a while.”
The Buckeyes are ranked No. 3 in the BCS for the second week in row, but sits a mere .0013 points ahead of No. 4 Baylor after beating Illinois 60-35 in Champaign, Ill. A college football playoff will be implemented next season, with a selection committee choosing four of the nation’s top teams to play in a round of semifinals before the winners meet in the national title game.
“I think (the BCS) took an imperfect system and did the best you can without a playoff,” Meyer said. “There’s going to be controversy in playoffs, too…There’s not a 64-team playoff. You’re going to have four guys. What is that fifth team going to feel like?”
Baylor defeated Texas Tech, 63-34, Saturday, which catapulted them ahead of OSU in the AP rankings. Although the Buckeyes defeated Illinois by nearly the same margin, the Illini made things interesting in the fourth quarter, cutting the lead to 12 with just under nine minutes to go.
Meyer was not pleased with his coaching performance in the win, giving himself a “C.”
“I was worried about too many other things,” Meyer said. “I can promise you, we’re going to coach better this week.”
Meyer and the Buckeyes are set to take on Indiana (4-6, 2-4) in the final home game of the season Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. at Ohio Stadium.
