What's the Weight of (Adjusted) Expectations after Reality Check Loss to Virginia Tech

By Patrick Maks on September 11, 2014 at 8:35 am
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During weekly interviews after practice Wednesday evening, Urban Meyer — arms folded, scowl on his face — was reminded how Ohio State has lost three of its last four games, and how it has been in position to win each one.

He groaned, pursed his lips together and bowed his head as if to further absorb a question about what message he’ll send his Buckeyes after an unexpected and illuminating 35-21 loss to Virginia Tech Saturday night.

“It’s all about execution. I’m not sure messages — we’re not gonna do a secret handshake or a T-shirt to finish a game," he said. "You gotta do it. We haven’t done it, you’re right."

Since a 24-game winning streak nearly vaulted Ohio State back to college football’s zenith, losses to Michigan State (Big Ten title game), Clemson (Orange Bowl) and, most recently, the Hokies have sent it crashing back to earth.

Last weekend, and the gutted feeling you might have in the pit of your stomach, was a reality check for a team that needs to readjust once-lofty expectations for the second time in about a month.

The first instance, losing star quarterback Braxton Miller to a season-ending shoulder injury, forced the Buckeyes to curb their national championship aspirations. Virginia Tech forced them to rethink them entirely.  

“This one we got exposed a little bit … we're going to coach them as hard as we have and they have to rebound,” Meyer said.

Because in a game in which Ohio State got outplayed and outcoached, it would seem its chances of reaching the inaugural, four-team college football playoff are now improbable.

The Buckeyes have defects — on the offensive line and at its outside skill positions — that won’t magically disappear. As the season progresses, it’s conceivable they’ll get better and that such weaknesses will ebb in time.

“Everything we're shooting for is playing for championships in November, and that's still right at our disposal,” Meyer said.

“I mean, we've got a heck of a long way to go: but you put your heart and your mind into that of a 19‑year‑old and everything's still there and I see that. Look, they're still hurting. They'll take our lead and take my lead — and I'm still hurting — so we'll be ready by tonight. Get it out of our system and go.”

With what should be an easy opportunity to get back on track and gain back confidence against an overmatched Kent State team, Ohio State will have a chance to release some of those demons this weekend.

And, yeah, it’s also possible for the Buckeyes to still win a Big Ten championship. Doing that, though, doesn’t mean they’ll get as much as a sniff at a national title. The league — which looks as feeble as ever after suffering a collective black eye last weekend — won’t do them any favors in respect to national perception.

Also consider Ohio State’s schedule, which currently features No. 13 Michigan State — a squad that lost to Oregon by 18 points. That’s supposed to be the Big Ten’s top team and it’s currently the Buckeyes best remaining opponent.  Winning the conference championship is nice, but it won’t be enough this season.

Beating the Spartans and winning out in league play won’t likely do much of the eyes of a playoff committee that simply won’t/can’t give the Buckeyes the benefit of the doubt. Nor is it a sure thing Ohio State runs the Big Ten table like it did for two regular seasons after a shaky outing against Virginia Tech.

The loss to the Hokies is two-fold: first, it throws the Buckeyes into a pool of one, two and three loss teams that would need varied degrees of miracles to send them to the national championship this season. Ohio State, though, remains optimistic.

“The season’s not over. We still got however many games and there have been one-loss teams that have won the national championship before, it’s happened,” senior defensive lineman Michael Bennett said.

“Our goals are still there, we’ve gotta keep getting better each week. We don’t have time to really worry about who says what about us because we’ve never really been the crowd favorite so we’ve just gotta keep chugging along, keep getting better and then just whatever happens, happens and they can say whatever they want.”

But the other thing about that loss to the Hokies isn’t just that it forces Ohio State to redefine what reasonable expectations are: it also offered a slew of reasons for why the Buckeyes might only be the second or third best team in a watered down conference.

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