Tag Archives: Urban Meyer

NCAA’s Suspension Issues and Their Coaches

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Caption: (L-R) OSU Coaches Urban Meyer (2012-2018), Jim Tressel (2001-2010), UM Coaches Rich Rodriguez (2008-2010), and Jim Harbaugh (2015-present)

By: Brady Shick

Brady Shick is a fourth-year undergraduate student at BGSU from Sagamore Hills, Ohio. He is majoring in Sport Management and minoring in Marketing. Baseball, golf, and football are his main sport interests.

October 6, 2023

Jim Harbaugh, Urban Meyer, and Jim Tressel. All highly acclaimed coaches from the Big Ten. All of whom served suspensions from their respective programs due to different NCAA violations. Tressel was initially suspended two games for not notifying university or NCAA officials of Ohio State players taking improper benefits. Tressel requested that his suspension be five games to match the 5-game suspensions of 6 players. Urban Meyer was suspended three games for insufficient action against an assistant coach who allegedly assaulted his wife. Jim Harbaugh was suspended for three games for recruiting violations during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Across these eleven games of suspensions their programs collectively went 9-2 with a scoring differential of +233. The only losses came from Tressel’s 2011 Ohio State team that was missing key players due to their acceptance of improper benefits. That means that each of these teams on average was winning by more than three touchdowns during games their head coach was suspended. That was with the head coach supposedly being the catalyst of any program. Urban Meyer built up three struggling programs into top 25 teams before leaving for another school. Harbaugh turned around a Michigan team that was clawing its way to a .500 record and hadn’t beaten The Ohio State in 10 years. Yet with both of these coaching greats missing from the sidelines their teams were winning by almost 30 points.

I don’t believe that these teams should lose because a head coach is missing, but to be dominant has something to say about the severity of the suspensions. Only one of the teams they played during these stretches was ranked and over half of the teams were not from a Power-5 Conference. These suspensions were all against lackluster competition. Because of this, we often see coaches at large schools committing various NCAA violations with little to no consequences. During their suspension, coaches are still allowed to see their players during the week leading up to games. Either way these suspensions don’t actually end up being punishments.

There are a few ways to fix this problem. One, you could start suspending coaches for fewer games and apply suspensions when they play conference games. Two, a coach’s suspension could include daily practices. This would prevent the head coach from having contact with his team and would serve as an actual suspension from the team.

I don’t want to see utter chaos and a team losing their national championship hopes because a coach is suspended. I do want to see actual consequences for breaking the rules.

Would you take 75 to 1 odds?

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By Kaleb Page

Let’s hop back in time for just a moment.

Let me take you back to a marquee game under the lights in Columbus, OH on September 6, 2014.

The game was between The Ohio State Buckeyes and Virginia Tech Hokies. A night game in the Horseshoe is a tall task for any team let alone Virginia Tech. However when the Hokies came to town they went all out on an Ohio State team that was still in the infancy stage in their season development.

The buckeyes just prior to the start of the season lost their center piece, the one everyone thought the entire season hinged on: Braxton Miller. When Miller went down, in stepped someone who everyone was scrambling to figure where he even came from. J.T. Barett took the reins and in only his second start faced off with the talented defensive mind of Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster. Foster also took advantage of an offensive line that was replacing four starters, three of which went on to be starters in the NFL.

All night Ohio State could just never seem to get it going. Whether it was dropped passes, poor blocking or even missed assignments on defense; there was a multitude of deficiencies to point out.

Upon losing the game 35-21 in a stunning home defeat, many looked to this team as a lost cause. A team that had no chance to even get anywhere near the college football playoff. The teams’ odds after the first game were 12 to 1. After the defeat, ESPN’s Darren Rovell found a ticket in Las Vegas that had the buckeyes at 75 to 1 odds to win the national championship.

Now I am no betting man but whoever had that ticket has to be doing a happy dance at this very moment.

Even though there were countless naysayers, tough road games, a loss of another quarterback and even the death of a teammate; this team became the ultimate definition of a team. Each and every week players on both sides of the ball stepped up to make plays and show how the team was growing. Even if I was not a fan of Ohio State I would have to be blown away with the resiliency and manner with which this team handled itself after so much adversity.

The college football playoff berth by the Buckeyes was set up after a 59-0 demolition with a third string quarterback (Cardale Jones) making his first ever start. It didn’t get any easier when the seeding gave the Buckeyes a match-up with the king of the SEC: Alabama. A game essential in Alabama’s back-yard, was just the second start for Jones but at the same time a coming out party for the talent, speed and physicality that this team developed from that loss early in September.

This past Monday night saw the improbable tale culminate the way it was meant to with Ohio State beating another stout team in Oregon. The first ever undisputed champion in college football history. Most teams that would have experienced the things this team did would have crumbled and maybe would have even struggled to go .500.

This team took that notion that they should feel sorry for themselves and threw it out the window. From “the slobs” (nickname of Ohio State’s offensive line) upfront developing into an unmatched force, Ezekiel Elliot fulfilling his potential to be a potent threat, a defense that found its mojo (the silver bullet defense is brewing up) and arguably the best coach in college football Urban Meyer; this team is complete. Their mantra of “The Power of The Unit” grew and grew as they needed everyone to make this dream a reality.

So do you want to take those 75-1 odds now…I sure wish I had way back when.

The Buckeyes mission is complete.

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The Power of the Unit: How this statement will be tested for Ohio State

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By Kaleb Page

For the Ohio State football team the past few days have seen more adversity thrown their way than most teams might experience in an entire season. If you look at any photos, press releases, etc. the mantra for this team is “Power of the Unit.” A mantra that holds that everyone on the team makes the unit not just one single player, also that in order to be a success it is how strong of a bond the team has. This mantra is surely at its toughest test as we make it to the end of the college football season.

Saturday was something that everyone in the state of Ohio and Michigan would say is “The Game.” The rivalry was like most years of the game full of intense moments and a hard-fought match up despite the records. Despite the end result, with Ohio State pulling away late to win 42-28; the win felt empty.

In the fourth quarter J.T. Barrett was running a play he had run hundreds of times during the season. A read option play where he could hand it off or take off and in this case Barrett took off up the field. As he was tackled his leg fell under a Michigan player and then more fell on top. As the pile got up; Barrett did not. After being carted off the field it was discovered that Barrett wouldn’t be back for the rest of the season with a broken ankle, thus ultimately throwing another plot twist in already what was a season full of twists for the buckeyes.

Even though this could affect what Ohio State does for the college playoff and will be a test on how well the coaches can get the team to play despite a loss on the field, there was event prior to “The Game” that makes the one above pale in comparison.

Early Wednesday morning a walk on defensive lineman and wrestler at Ohio State went missing. Kosta Karageorge was known by teammates to be a funny, kind and a gentle giant. As a senior he was supposed to be honored at the final home game of the season against Michigan. Unfortunately for all the hopes and wishes to be found safely in time to be back with the team, Karageorge would not be there Saturday. This story ended with the ultimate sadness that Karageorge was found early Sunday morning dead of what was concluded to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

This heart-break and sadness will test this team in not just the way of losing someone to play. It will test how true this team is in its togetherness and ability to be there for one another. Urban Meyer said this week, “I can just say, this is an extremely close team that does a lot of things together and cares about each other.” If this statement is as true as Meyer says, then this team should be able to rally around each other in this tough time losing not only a teammate but a close friend forever. Something they will have to do relatively quickly for a big test yet ahead of them.

This Saturday night is the Big Ten Championship game between this Ohio State team and the Wisconsin Badgers. If Ohio State plans on making it out of Indianapolis with a win and the shot at being in the first edition of the college football playoff, then they better be as strong a team as they say.

One thing is for sure when it comes to this team in particular, they have all the reason to not show up Saturday. Whether it is because they have lost their second quarterback of the season, the pressure of doubters saying how can they even be in the playoff discussion or for the fact they lost more than a teammate but a friend forever over the holidays; this team has all the reason to fold in.

Hopefully they do play to their mantra of the “Power of the Unit” and show what it truly means to be a close-knit team willing and able to persevere through anything as long as they are together.

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