With Ohio State on a bye week, head coach Urban Meyer did not have his weekly press conference Monday. On Tuesday's Big Ten coaches teleconference, Meyer addressed the media for the first time since Saturday's 52-24 win over Maryland.
In that victory against the Terrapins, Meyer said he was pleased with the Buckeyes' defense as a whole, limiting Maryland to 118 yards below its season average.
“I met with the defense today and we watched the video tape together and first of all, the effort was really good," Meyer said. "We contained the screen game which was a big concern of ours. The one negative was the big pass in the second half. You take that away and we keep them well below their average. It was a miscommunication, it wasn’t a guy getting beat. It was a signal issue that we got corrected.”
Meyer was also asked about two players — right tackle Darryl Baldwin and running back Bri'onte Dunn — and how they've made a leap into playing roles for the Buckeyes this season.
“If he’s not the most improved player on our team, he’s one of them," Meyer said of Baldwin. "He’s a guy that was a journeymen, a defensive lineman that never played. We moved him over to offense and we all had questions of whether or not he would play. The one thing we found out is when you challenge him and when he’s given an opportunity, he’s a very good player. He’s extremely conscientious and one of the hardest-working guys I’ve been around. … Our success on offense is a lot because of the way he’s playing.”
Meyer on Dunn: “The confidence that I have and that our coaching staff has in him is off the charts right now. I sometimes give too much information, but I always like to be very open. He was gone. He would not be renewed next year if would not have made a jump on the field and off the field. He earned it. … What an incredible journey he’s been on and we hope it sticks.”
Meyer also said he's well aware of what's going on around college football with so many of the top-ranked teams going down last weekend. He said he'll have his annual state of the union talk with his team and then move on.
Patrick will have more on this tomorrow morning, but here's something brief Meyer said Tuesday:
“I do this every year at this time, but we’ll have a little state of the union conversation because everybody’s talking about it. So, we’ll talk about it and then we’ll put it to bed and try to get better as a team because there’s still a lot of areas we’ve gotta get better in.”
Finally, Meyer was asked about quarterback J.T. Barrett, who has continued to impress.
“The offensive line has really protected him much better. We gave up a couple sacks Saturday but for the most part they’re protecting him," Meyer said. "The guys who have really improved also are the skill around him. He’s a very good manager of the offense, he’s got a good arm and his arm strength seems to be getting better, too."
Notes:
Ohio State has its second bye week of the season already and will take on Rutgers on Oct. 18 before a string of three consecutive night games.
After an upset over Wisconsin, Northwestern currently sits alone atop the Big Ten West with a 2-0 league mark. Certainly surprising after the Wildcats started the season with two losses. Northwestern will look to remain unbeaten in the Big Ten when it takes on Minnesota on Saturday.
Michigan has lost three straight games and has started 0-2 in the Big Ten for the first time since 1967. The Wolverines are 2-4 overall and with Michigan State and Ohio State still on their schedule, it's likely Michigan will need to win each of its other four remaining games just to become bowl eligible. The Wolverines host Penn State on Saturday night.
Meyer and the other 13 Big Ten coaches appeared Tuesday on their weekly league teleconference. Here are some highlights of what other coaches had to say:
Pat Fitzgerald (Northwestern):
- On the performance of Northwestern's young players, including Godwin Igwebuike, who was the Big Ten Defensive Player and Freshman of the Week: "It has very little to do with us and everything with how you prepare. ... He prepared last week like he's never prepared in his life for a football game."
- Fitzgerald said in today's college game holding a team to under four scores is "pretty good defense." Back when he played, said the goal was to hold teams to under 17 points. "It's an offensive game now, that's the bottom line just with the way the rules are set up."
- "I'm a pretty firm believer that stats are for losers." Oh, OK, coach.
Brady Hoke (Michigan):
- "I thought we gave tremendous effort the other night at Rutgers. It was great to see our team unite and play together, but I wish we could have changed the results."
- Hoke said Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg is one of the "great quarterbacks in the country."
- On running back De'Veon Smith, who will be filling in for the injured Derrick Green: "We obviously think he's a pretty good football player."
- Hoke said the No. 1 key to Penn State's stingy defense is its defensive front.
- Michigan will be playing its first Big Ten night game in Michigan Stadium against the Nittany Lions. "It truly is something special," Hoke said. "Both of the previous night games and this being historic because it's the first Big Ten night game in Michigan Stadium, we've got great fans who support these kids and just the whole thing with the atmosphere is second to none in college football."
Gary Andersen (Wisconsin):
- "Northwestern played well and in the end deserved to win the game and did win the game."
- Wisconsin had 15 missed tackles and four turnovers against the Wildcats. Andersen said: "Your chances are winning the football game are probably less than 5 percent" when that happens.
- Andersen said the plan right now is to play both quarterbacks Joel Stave and Tanner McEvoy.
- Asked about what Wisconsin has to fix going into the Illinois game: "You got about an hour? We can sit down and talk about it," Andersen joked.
Bo Pelini (Nebraska):
- Pelini said defensive back Daniel Davie and wide receiver Kenny Bell "should be ready for Northwestern."
- Pelini said the quarterback-center exchange issues Nebraska had a couple of times were the result of Michigan State players clapping a few times to confuse the Cornhuskers. "That's something I'll talk to the league office about."
- Just an observation, but after a loss Pelini is much less enthusiastic on the teleconference.
Mark Dantonio (Michigan State):
- On the almost-epic collapse against Nebraska: "We need to be able to close it and the game is never over. That game changed very, very quickly from 27-3 to all of a sudden, Nebraska has a chance to win it."
- On his success on the road: "It's just a product, I think, of what we believe here and how we go about our business as a staff and as players."
- Dantonio was asked about the players clapping before Nebraska snapping the ball. "We have different ways that we have to move our front. Some of that has to do with clapping. ... From my perspective we have the opportunity to move our people any way we want to do it."
Kirk Ferentz (Iowa):
- "We're coming off a bye week, so we got a chance to rest up a little bit. We're eager to get back into a game week routine."
- On Indiana: "A casual fan might look at Indiana as a spread-passing attack, but as you well know they run the ball extremely well. ... They're getting a lot of yards, a lot of points and they can defend the entire football field."
- Ferentz was asked if he allowed cameras into his locker room to capture pre-game or post-game moments: "The locker room and the bathroom are two places I like not to have exposed to the public at this point."
Jerry Kill (Minnesota):
- Kill said his team practiced four times over the bye week before giving his players the weekend off.
- During that bye week, Kill said running back David Cobb was a bit banged out and he held him out of practice.
Kyle Flood (Rutgers):
- On playing against some of the Big Ten defenses: "It's a challenge every week. Not only are you going against some of the best athletes in the country, but you're going against some of the best coaches in the country."
- Flood gave a lot of credit to the emergence of the Rutgers program to former head coach Greg Schiano.
Tim Beckman (Illinois):
- Beckman called last week's loss to Purdue a "tough, tough loss."
- Beckman was asked if he feels like he's coaching for his job. "I take one game at a time," he said. "Like I said before, this is a blessing to be the head coach here at the University at Illinois. ... We're gonna take this challenge as we go into the second half of the season. ... My sole purpose is for these football players and I want them to experience what it feels like to be a winner and I'm gonna give them everything that I've got."
Randy Edsall (Maryland):
- Edsall said Maryland's bye week "comes at a really good time for us."
- On the atmosphere at Byrd Stadium on Saturday against Ohio State: "There was a really great atmosphere. It's something we want to be able to duplicate every home game that we have. It was neat to see and have all those fans out there." Edsall called the environment "electric."
Darrell Hazell (Purdue):
- "It was a good win for us last weekend. I thought our time, for the first time, really responded offensively, defensively and special teams through some adversity."
- On Michigan State: "They're so disciplined and if you watch them they never get out of position. ... They never beat themselves."
- On the post-game feeling after earning his first Big Ten win: "Just to see the faces of our guys and how much excitement they had in their eyes, that was probably the best feeling I've had since I got here."
James Franklin (Penn State):
- On the matchup with Michigan: "We're going to play a talented team. We're focused on what we see on film and Penn State and going in there and playing well.
Kevin Wilson (Indiana):
- On promoting Tevon Coleman for postseason awards: "Our department can handle that. You guys in the media can write those good articles to sell him as a Heisman contender."
