OSU coach Urban Meyer talks into his headset on the sidelines during a game against Penn State on Oct. 25 in State College, Pa. OSU won, 31-24, in double overtime.
Credit: Ritika Shah / Lantern TV news director
Coming off a double-overtime win on the road at Penn State, Ohio State coach Urban Meyer spoke to members of the media Monday to address the win and an upcoming matchup with Illinois.
Meyer talked about an injury sustained by redshirt-freshman quarterback J.T. Barrett against the Nittany Lions, the team’s overall performance and how to prepare for the Fighting Illini after grinding out a last-second victory.
- Meyer said Barrett has a sprained MCL: “Obviously there’s no surgery or anything.”
- He said he thinks the signal caller will be limited in practice this week.
- Meyer said the Buckeyes were “pleased to get out of State College with a win.”
- He praised Barrett’s ability to lead the OSU offense in overtime, especially when played toward the Penn State student section.
- Meyer said “the offensive line did not play up to Ohio State standards, and that’s where it starts.”
- He said Barrett had “just an OK game,” when it comes to making reads and decisions.
- He said he was “very pleased” with the OSU defense outside of the final drive when Penn State tied the game.
- Meyer called the 31-24 triumph a “great win for the Buckeyes.”
- He said he wasn’t pleased with the pace of the offense against Penn State.
- Meyer on the experience of playing in an atmosphere like the Nittany Lions created at Beaver Stadium: “It’s not a good thing, it’s a great thing.”
- Meyer singled out redshirt-freshman linebacker Darron Lee and sophomore defensive lineman Joey Bosa for their effort late in the game.
- He said overall, OSU “didn’t play very good.”
- Meyer said Illinois is “much improved from a year ago.”
- Meyer said practice times might come in shorter than normal this week. “It’s gonna be a nine-period, 10-period practice today and then we’re off.”
- He said the coaching staff plans to keep some younger players out an extra 35 minutes on Monday to get work on fundamentals.
- Meyer said he thinks the Buckeyes “did what we had to do to win the game” against Penn State. “We won the game in a tough environment.”
- Meyer said sophomore safety Cam Burrows and redshirt-senior defensive lineman Rashad Frazier should be back against Illinois.
- He added junior linebacker Devan Bogard is set to have ACL surgery for the third straight season.
- He said he doesn’t see a big difference between the BCS system and the College Football Playoff system.
- Meyer said Illinois coach Tim Beckman is “a colleague and a friend.”
- Meyer called Barrett “one of the toughest cats I’ve ever seen” after he played through the knee injury. Added Barrett probably won’t look limited, even if he is.
- He said Bosa is a “practice player.” Meyer added Bosa is better now than he was at the start of the season.
- Meyer on Bosa’s final-play sack to beat Penn State: “It was a tailback that was trying to block that big monster.”
- He said the defense “played too soft” on Penn State’s final drive during regulation time.
The Buckeyes are scheduled to play the Fighting Illini on Saturday at Ohio Stadium. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m.
