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That’s an impressive number, but it also makes every loss feel like the end of the world. That’s where the Buckeyes are this week as they prepare for a 4:30 p.m. Saturday home game against Army.
“You go from devastated to crushed to pissed,” Meyer said, “and then you’ve got to move forward as a leader and get going. We’re somewhere between two and three right now: pissed and moving forward. Our players, they’re resilient. They get over things quickly. So it’s our job to get over them quickly and move forward and fix issues that caused the failing, the loss. That’s where we’re at.”
How surprising was the loss to the Sooners? Here’s how the defeats of the Meyer era rank from most surprising to least:
1. Sept. 6, 2014: Virginia Tech 35, Ohio State 21 — Ohio State lost its first home opener since 1978. It had won 35 home openers in a row. Ohio State had 24 players on its roster in that game who would be drafted in the next three years. That number doesn't include players who could be drafted in 2018.
The Hokies lost their next two games after this victory and finished the season 7-6. The Buckeyes won the next 13 games in the 2014 season, including the Big Ten championship, the Sugar Bowl and the national championship game. Then they won the first 10 games of the 2015 season.
2. Nov. 21, 2015: Michigan State 17, Ohio State 14 — Ohio State lost five players to the draft in 2015 but still featured a stacked roster, starting six future first-round picks. The Buckeyes were 10-0 when they lost at home on a 41-yard field goal by Michael Geiger as time expired.
Running back Ezekiel Elliott ripped the coaching staff after the game for not giving him the ball enough. He carried 12 times for 33 yards.
“I’m disappointed in the play-calling and disappointed in the situations we were put in,” he said. “I feel like we were not put into the right opportunity to win the game.
3. Oct. 22, 2016: Penn State 24, Ohio State 21 — The Buckeyes went to Happy Valley with a 6-0 mark, having knocked off two top-25 teams in Oklahoma and Wisconsin on the road. They had the game in hand going to the fourth quarter with a 21-7 lead. Penn State won thanks to a 60-yard return by Grant Haley after a blocked field goal with 4:27 to play.
4. Dec. 7, 2013: Michigan State 34, Ohio State 24 — The Buckeyes finished 12-0 in 2012, Meyer's first season, but couldn't play in the postseason because of NCAA infractions committed during the Jim Tressel era. They again finished the regular season 12-0 in 2013 only to suffer this loss in the Big Ten championship game. The 24-game winning streak was the longest in school history.
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The defeat cost Ohio State a spot in the final BCS National Championship game. The College Football Playoff started the following season.
5. Sept. 9, 2017: Oklahoma 31, Ohio State 16: The Buckeyes were a 7½-point favorite Saturday. Their 45-24 victory at Oklahoma the previous season didn't serve as an omen. The Sooners rode Baker Mayfield's arm to a dominant performance, outscoring the Buckeyes 21-13 in the final 23 minutes.
6. Jan. 3, 2014: Clemson 40, Ohio State 35: The Buckeyes suffered their first — and so far only — two-game losing streak in the Meyer era, losing to the Tigers in the Orange Bowl after falling to Michigan State in the Big Ten title game. Meyer was 4-0 in BCS bowl games until this defeat.
7. Dec. 31, 2016: Clemson 31, Ohio State 0 — While it wasn't surprising Ohio State lost this game — Clemson had a Heisman Trophy runner-up in Deshaun Watson and would go on to beat Alabama in the national championship game — the final score was a shock. Ohio State suffered its first shutout since 1993. A Meyer-coached team was blanked for the first time.
SATURDAY’S GAME
Army at Ohio State, 4:30 p.m., FOX, 1410
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