COLUMBUS, Ohio — This year marks the 10th anniversary of Coach Urban Meyer’s first year at Ohio State in which the team went 12-0 for their last perfect season. Expectations were low coming off a losing season, but the team would surprise even their most loyal fans.
What You Need To Know
- 2022 marks the 10th anniversary of Coach Urban Meyer’s first season as head football coach at The Ohio State University
- Despite sanctions that prohibited the team from playing a bowl game, many consider the season worthy of a national title
- A series of close wins earned the team the nickname “The Luckeyes”
“They beat Michigan State in East Lansing, 17-16, and that was the turning point," Columbus Dispatch sports reporter Bill Rabinowitz said. "Before that game, they had a team meeting and Urban Meyer holds this ‘championship water’ ... drink from the water and we will be champions ... and they all bought in."
In his first season with the Buckeyes, Meyer brought a new level of discipline and focus to the team.
“You could argue that they were playing with house money; in other words, there wasn’t a lot of pressure,” Columbus Dispatch sports columnist Rob Oller said.
Oller suggests that without the possibility of a bowl game, the team felt more free to take chances and play loose.
In 2012, the Buckeyes were barred from competing in a bowl game, the result of sanctions imposed by the NCAA for failing to monitor player violations under coach Jim Tressell.
“It’s the only time in Ohio State football history that a coach has led Ohio State to a perfect record in his first season,” Sports Historian Jack Park said.
The Stadium at 100 is part of a series of special coverage created by Spectrum News and the Columbus Dispatch to honor Ohio State University’s historical football stadium.