OP: OSU football doesn’t need Urban Meyer to win

The three-game suspension for Urban Meyer was the right call by OSU’s Board of Trustees.

Ohio State’s Board of Trustees handed Mr. Meyer a three-game suspension (suspended for Oregon State, allowed to prep team for Rutgers and TCU, but not be on the sideline during the games) for not completely reporting the alleged abuse by his former assistant coach Zach Smith to his then wife Courtney Smith back in 2015, and for lying about his knowledge of this situation at this year’s B1G Ten Media Day.

Additionally, Ohio State Athletic Director Gene Smith will be suspended from August 31 to September 16 for his part in all of this.

This situation returns to the question of Urban Meyer’s indirect loyalty to his mentor Earle Bruce for putting and keeping his grandson on his staff despite Zach Smith’s problems stemming from 2009 that has rightly been pushed to the top of public concern and scrutiny in the #MeToo era in 2018.

Now to the question of this football season.

Will Urban Meyer’s three-game suspension ultimately hobble the high aspirations of the 2018 Buckeye football team?

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No.

If Ohio State, with all of its talent—veterans and rising stars—cannot defeat Oregon State and Rutgers by at least one point without Urban Meyer on the sidelines, then this team has problems beyond any three-game suspension. However, The OSU Buckeyes will beat the OSU Beavers and Scarlet Knights so that’s a non-issue.

And let’s not forget that this Ohio State team has very capable assistant coaches who were hired by Urban Meyer and they are, like the players, a collection of veterans and rising stars.

While the players have been deliberately kept from speaking with the press during this process, Buckeye football players and coaches will likely use their coach’s three-game suspension as a galvanizing moment for this season on the field and up in the booth.

Now if Ohio State ends up beating TCU, then they’ve just beaten the Horned Frogs and, equally important, national expectations.

If Ohio State is 2-0 and then loses to TCU in a non-blowout sans Urban Meyer on the sideline yet wins out the rest of the season, then they just might receive the benefit of the doubt from the Playoff Committee if the team’s only (potential) negative performance on the field was without their head coach—barring any new bombshell evidence against Urban Meyer—when the next moment of truth for the 2018 football Buckeyes arrives later this fall.

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