Nobody really saw the 2014 season coming at Ohio State. Okay, I guess we might be a little wrong about that because Buckeye fans expect their team to win the national title every single season.
But from a national perspective, OSU was a young team dealing with its dynamic starting quarterback, Braxton Miller, going down with injury right before the season. It seemed like a mountain that was too steep to climb. Add that to backup J.T. Barrett going down in the Michigan game and the death of a teammate with Kosta Karageorge, and it all seemed like too much to overcome.
But overcome they did. After losing early to Virginia Tech, Ohio State continued to improve and shocked the world at the end of the season, squeaking into the College Football Playoff and winning the whole darn thing.
And if you ever wondered what former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer’s proudest moment of that season was (we know we were), then you’re in luck because he answered that very question in a segment of FOX’s Ring Chronicles. It’s a series FOX has put together to discuss some of the monumental seasons in which Meyer brought home a ring, and it was time to discuss 2014.
According to Meyer, it was the win over Alabama.
“Proudest moment of the season had to be when we beat Alabama,” Meyer told FOX. “I remember when I first went to Ohio State, even Shelley (Meyer) said ‘we just don’t have the speed in the Big Ten to compete with Alabama and the SEC,’. And that was true. If you really watched the Big Ten and studied the players, the SEC just had more speed and more quality depth. And we went in there and we called it ‘the chase.'”
“We chased the SEC and we caught them. And that was the proudest moment, to know that the first team in quite awhile from up north to go win a national title, and to have to go do it down in Louisiana. To get to Dallas we had to beat Alabama at New Orleans. That was the proudest moment.”
You can catch the entire segment by clicking on the below Twitter video shared by FOX College Football. Meyer also goes on to single out players that were unsung contributors, and what made the 2014 team so special.
“We chased the SEC and we caught ‘em.”@CoachUrbanMeyer looks back on his proudest moment and most underrated contributors from the 2014 @OhioStateFB championship team. pic.twitter.com/MRkvsTf65G
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) August 28, 2020
What memories do you have from that team? What made it special to you? Get in on the conversation and tell us on Twitter, Facebook, or on our message board. You can find out how to get to all of our social media tools below.
Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion.
We have a forum and message board now. Get in on the conversation about Ohio State athletics by joining the Buckeyes Wire Forum.