‘This Is a Problem’ — Urban Meyer Addresses ‘One Big Alarm’ Going Off For Ohio State After Stunning Loss to Arch Manning’s Texas
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The Ohio State Buckeyes snatched defeat from the jaws of victory when they let a 20-point lead slip in the fourth quarter, losing 24-23 to the Texas Longhorns in Week 2 of college football action. Coach Ryan Day’s Buckeyes threatened to blow the Longhorns out of the water in the first half before the Longhorns mounted one of the most stirring comebacks in the nascent college football season.
Former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer pinpointed one major cause for concern for the Buckeyes in their stunning loss to the Longhorns.
Urban Meyer Raises Ohio State Concern
During Tuesday’s segment of the “Triple Option” podcast, Meyer expressed his surprise at how quickly the Buckeyes took control of the game in a hostile environment. The former national championship-winning coach praised both teams for their talent and performances in the marquee game.
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“There’s a couple of alarms. I wouldn’t panic on either if I’m Sark (Steve Sarkisian), which I can see the way he’s handled all of this. Move on, you got a great win and a tough schedule coming up. If I’m Ryan Day years ago, this is a problem,” Meyer said.
“I don’t think this is a problem. You got a great football team. There’s gonna be many what-ifs ’cause you should have won the damn football game. In that fourth quarter, all you needed was a couple of first downs and make a field goal and it’s over. My point is this: in the era of a 12-team playoff, you’re fine. Take care of business, keep getting better, solve some of these issues.”
While the Buckeyes are expected to win most games, Day is under less pressure than he was two seasons ago, before Ohio State won the national championship, which ended a 10-year drought. The Buckeyes are now consistently considered preseason favorites to win the national championship and continue the Big Ten’s dominance in college football.
Despite missing out on the national championship last year, Day’s Buckeyes will once again be a major contender for the 12-team College Football Playoff field.
Alongside the praise, Meyer sounded the alarm on Ohio State’s defense allowing Texas to run the ball at them in the fourth quarter.
“But there’s one big alarm that’s going off when I saw this. And that’s the last three drives and I watched them live and I went back and watched them on tape,” Meyer added. “You had 15 players, 91 yards and Arch did a good job, but I’m telling you, they ran the ball right at them.
“I kept waiting at some point to step up and make a play on defense and normally, that’s what’s happened under D.C Matt Patricia. All that freaking talent that you’ve had. Remember they lost a lot of guys to the NFL. They ran right at them. Of all the concerns, that’s number one.”
The Buckeyes managed 278 passing and 94 rushing yards versus the Longhorns’ 195 passing and 141 rushing yards. Day’s team converted 6 of 14 third-down attempts, against the Longhorns’ 9 of 16 as coach Steve Sarkisian’s team roared back to steal the game.
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Last season, the Buckeyes boasted both one of college football’s best defenses and offenses. The defense earned an impressive PFN College Team Defense Impact score of 95.1 (No. 4 in college football).
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.
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