“I’m disappointed in the play calling and disappointed in the situations we were put in during the second half”, lamented Elliott.
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The loss ends Ohio State’s FBS-leading 23-game winning streak and Big Ten record 30-game conference winning streak.1 There’s little time to pout, however, with a visit to That School Up North looming.
That’s right – whoever wins between the Buckeyes and the Wolverines will be champions of the East. The question then becomes if the Spartans will join them as co-champions or not. Even with uneven play, they controlled their fate as far as the Big Ten championship game and College Football Playoff. Meyer pointed to the battle at the line – on both sides of the ball – as a reason why the Spartans prevailed in Columbus Saturday.
MI State wasn’t the only Playoff hopeful to experience a Re-rank bump. Still, Meyer added that the timing of Elliott’s comments were an issue. “It’s the best rivalry game around and I’m just thankful to be part of it”, he said. Smith would not say if Elliott will be punished by coach Urban Meyer. “One of the most selfless players I’ve ever coached and been around”. In a game that went all the way down to the wire, it was Sparty that turned more of that dust into points as they emerged with a 17-14 victory on a last second field goal. “You know, fourth-and-8 is much different than fourth-and-3”, said Meyer. And I have to do better. “I mean, honestly, I can’t speak for the play calling”. Now, the focus is entirely on MI, he said, though of course he didn’t use that verboten word.
Ohio State coach Urban Meyer, with his team set to square off with archrival MI this weekend, joined Elliott in trying to douse the controversy Monday by saying “we squashed it as a team”.
But, hear me out: MI State, a team with no breakout stars tops its in-state rival, equipped with the returning Jim Harbaugh, in a way that people immediately described as miraculous. And in our house and our community, as Bob Ufer put it, it was a “dastardly deed” and a day that would ‘live in infamy.’ That was my first experience in the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry.
“Oh, I’m not surprised at all“, Meyer said of Michigan’s turnaround. “I think I really do”, after Saturday’s loss. He called out the coaches for “not putting (them) in a position to win”. Saturday’s loss to MSU could affect the Buckeyes one of two ways as they play MI. It’s not the worst thing a football player has said or done. “We didn’t play well”. You guys saw that on that drive. “I’ve been through a lot this year, and I don’t know what good is going to come from it, but I’m convinced that eventually we’re going to see something good come from this”.
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Should the Hawkeyes beat Nebraska next week, they will finish 12-0 in the regular season – just a year after finishing 7-6.
