Scarlet Sunrise: Urban Meyer says Ohio State 'would've beat TCU' in national title game

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Urban Meyer says Ohio State ‘would’ve beat TCU’ in national title game

It isn’t a bold statement, but it is a noteworthy one nonetheless, considering it came from former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer, who guided the Buckeyes to their lone national title during the College Football Playoff era.

Meyer told On3’s JD Pickell on “The Hard Count” that Ohio State would’ve topped TCU in this past season’s national title game if the Buckeyes had made it to Los Angeles.

Georgia, which the Buckeyes gave serious fits in the Peach Bowl CFP semifinal, pummeled the Horned Frogs, 65-7, in SoFi Stadium. That was the largest margin of victory in any bowl game at the FBS level.

So, when Meyer was asked what Ohio State needs to do to win it all in 2023, his answer related back to this past season.

“Well they did it,” Meyer said. “They were a field goal — that, maybe they get a little closer and the kicker hits that field goal, Ohio State’s got their ninth national championship right now. They would’ve beat TCU. Unless someone got injured or turnovers, but they would’ve had the more talented team. You saw what happened with Georgia in that game. So they’re right there.

“They have to beat the ‘Team up North.’ They have to get to Indianapolis. But there’s nothing — right now Ohio State is as strong a program as there is in the country. Recruiting is elite. They’ve got an elite coaching staff and elite players. So they’ve just got to take care of business.”

Ohio State still made the CFP last year without beating Michigan, but the only reason the Buckeyes were able to sneak in was because USC lost the Pac-12 title game to Utah. Day and Co. can’t back their way in every year. More importantly, they can’t afford to keep losing to Michigan — for a variety of reasons.

When Ohio State heads to Ann Arbor next season, the Buckeyes will be trying to avoid their first three-game losing streak to Michigan since 1995-97.

Late-game heroics lift Buckeyes women’s hoops team to Sweet Sixteen

Ohio State women’s basketball has reached back-to-back Sweet Sixteens for the first time since 2016-17 (except, that 2017 trip was vacated by the NCAA). The Buckeyes have Jacy Sheldon to thank.

Sheldon, a senior guard who missed significant time this season with a leg injury, knocked down the game-winner — a clutch floater on a broken play with 1.8 seconds to go — against sixth-seeded North Carolina. The Tar Heels couldn’t complete their subsequent inbound pass, and Ohio State held on for a 71-69 win in The Schottenstein Center.

Sheldon’s late-game heroics came just two days after the Buckeyes erased a double-digit, first-half deficit versus 14th-seeded James Madison. Four Ohio State scorers finished in double figures against JMU. The same was true versus UNC.

Now, the Buckeyes are off to Seattle and are set to play second-seeded UConn in the Sweet Sixteen.

Five Buckeyes with something to prove entering second week of spring camp

Ohio State spring break is over, and that means that Buckeyes football is back in session, too. The program pressed pause on spring ball last week but is back in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center for Week 2 of spring practices. Head coach Ryan Day’s team still has 13 practices to go, including a much-anticipated April 15 spring game.

So, what’s to watch for in the second week of Ohio State spring practice?

Well, Lettermen Row has come up with five Buckeyes players who have something to prove at this point of the offseason. Check it out here.

RELATED

• Lessons Learned from first week of Buckeyes spring camp
• Offensive observations from second day of Buckeyes spring camp
• Defensive observations from second day of Buckeyes spring camp

Counting down

Buckeyes vs. Indiana: 165 days

Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 249 days

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