Urban Meyer: Ohio State-Clemson a New Challenge for Both
Urban Meyer would likely never say this, or would say it much more diplomatically, but he clearly cannot hide his enthusiasm for what's coming when No. 2 Ohio State plays No. 3 Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl.
Matchups like this one in the College Football Playoff used to twist Meyer's stomach in knots and bombard him with stress from all sides, but as he stepped into a press availability Thursday in his role as a Fox-TV analyst, the former Ohio State coach sounded like a giddy fan who cannot wait for Saturday's 8 p.m. kickoff.
"Imagine now," Meyer said, "I'm used to playing someone I'm better than the entire year. Now, I'm playing someone as good as I am. And this guy's moving. He's as big and fast as I am. Same thing at Clemson. They're used to playing teams that aren't nearly as good as they are."
Meyer has coached in, and won, his share of games with this magnitude, so he's an authority on what tips the balance between opponents that routinely dispatched inferior competition en route to respective 13-0 records.
"The key is going to be, how do people respond in the first seven minutes or the first few possessions, because other than practice, they have not faced, neither team has faced anything close to what they're getting ready to go up against," he said.
Meyer knows how that will play in Big Ten country, given OSU had to rally from a 21-7 deficit against Wisconsin to win the conference title, 34-21.
"I'm not being disrespectful to Wisconsin," he said. "I can see that headline. No. As far as complete team...(the) best group of receivers (Ohio State played) was the Wolverines. But other areas weren't as good as Clemson.
"Same thing with Clemson. Clemson has not faced anything close to Ohio State. So what does that mean? That means now all of the sudden, (when) I've been in a fight, I've been bigger, faster, stronger than everybody I've fought against.
"Now I'm looking at somebody as big, as fast, as strong as I am, We've been in those game and it takes your breath away for the first several minutes of the game. It's going to be so fast."
Meyer will watch it from the sidelines, where he's still most comfortable, and where those old fires will stir in his belly, based upon what transpires.
"I would try to get two first downs on offense," he said. "Somehow, get two first downs. That usually tilts the field. Then you can, if you have to punt, punt it down there. Or, if you're across the 50, you can take more shots.
"What you can't do is be backed up. Does that make sense? You can't be backed up.
"And then you have defense playing elite receivers you haven't seen like this. Play a little more zone. Keep the ball in front of you. Stay out of press (man-to-man) until you start getting used to the speed.
"I can't wait to watch. I'm going to be on the field watching. I'm going to watch their eyes, because you can see, the coaches can tell as they're coming off."
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