First Posted: 10/13/2014
COLUMBUS – Apparently, momentum is not just something for fans to talk about.
With Ohio State coming off its second bye week in four weeks, coach Urban Meyer said at his weekly press conference on Monday that he was going to hold a team meeting to discuss maintaining the momentum built up over the last three games.
No. 13 Ohio State (4-1, 1-0 Big Ten) will play first-year Big Ten member Rutgers (5-1, 1-1 Big Ten) at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Ohio Stadium.
OSU has won its last three football games 52-24 over Maryland, 50-28 over Cincinnati and 66-0 over Kent State.
All of those opponents rank among the worst defensive teams, statistically, in the country. Cincinnati is No. 125 out of 125. Kent State is No. 104 and Maryland is No. 99.
But whatever the caliber of the opposition, Ohio State has been on a roll offensively and wants to continue it.
“We had a lot of momentum after the Maryland game. We have to somehow re-stake that momentum. It’s kind of uncharted waters for me to have that many bye weeks so early in the season,” Meyer said.
“We’ve got to get ready to go against a team whose last game was a tremendous effort. We have to be ready to go and I’m sure we will,” he said.
Asked for specifics about what Ohio State will do to guard against the momentum collapsing, he said, “We haven’t done it yet. That’s what this week is for. We’re going to have a team meeting and discuss it with them.
“The good thing is if you have a bad team and guys who don’t quite listen to you, then you have to kind of create things. But we’re going to talk to them like grown men – this is where we are, this is what we have to do. We’ve had three days off, let’s pick up and go.
“We’re a much better team than we were two weeks ago,” Meyer said.
Offensive tackle Taylor Decker said, “I think there is always a chance for it (losing momentum). But throughout the bye week everybody had a good demeanor and I think practices went really well. Everybody seemed to be excited.”
Safety Tyvis Powell said there are two ways to look at two early bye weeks, but he hopes the Buckeyes choose only one of those.
“I could see it as being good and bad. The way I see it being good is if we can pick up where we left off and get that momentum going. It’s good to keep it going, keep playing and keep it progressing,” he said. “If we come out this week and we’re lackadaisical, it can be bad. But I don’t see that. I see everybody is focused. After suffering that one loss early in the season, everybody’s mindset has really changed and we’re just trying to get the job done on Saturdays.”
Meyer’s teams have an 18-1 record the week after an off week. His only loss was to Miami of Ohio while he was at Bowling Green.
NOTES:
MEYER’S POLL VOTE: Meyer said he voted Mississippi State No. 1 in the USA Today coaches poll this week after its win over Auburn.
That vote made a difference since Mississippi State edged previously No. 1 Florida State by one point.
Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen was an assistant for Meyer at Bowling Green, Utah and Florida.
“I think they earned it with what they’ve done,” Meyer said, referring to Mississippi State’s wins over three Top Ten teams this season.
SAMUEL COULD RETURN: Freshman running back Curtis Samuel, who did not dress for the Maryland game because of a leg injury, is expected to be ready to go this week.
“We should get him back,” Meyer said.
MORE FRESHMEN?: Ten of the 23 freshmen with scholarships have played in OSU’s first five games and Meyer would like to see more of them get on the field. But he said he doesn’t want them to play just token minutes.
“You’d like more to play. I think we could play (defensive end) Sam Hubbard. If it were his decision, he would playing. He has worked hard enough to play. There are four or five more we would like to get them in there and play.”
