As to be expected under a new head coach, the Ohio State Buckeyes came out of the gates slow in the debut of the Urban Meyer era, but after a quarter where the offense struggled, the Buckeyes surged to a 56-10 victory over the Miami (Ohio) Redhawks.
The ensuing reaction over at SB Nation's Ohio State blog Land-Grant Holy Land was one of solid optimism, even when the Redhawks jumped on the Buckeyes 3-0 early on.
Not what I expected to see from our first effort under Meyer. But hey, it's only 3-0. Just have to wait for acclimation. Alternatively, BURN DOWN THIS FIELD, THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE. URBAN MEYER, MORE LIKE URBAN FIRED
Of course, that Miami lead didn't last long. The Buckeyes scored a touchdown less than two minutes into the second quarter and that seemed to be all they needed to get into a rhythm, ultimately gaining 538 total yards and forcing three Redhawk turnovers. Quarterback Braxton Miller shined in Meyer's offense, throwing for 205 yards and running for a school-record 161.
In short, the fans over at Land-Grant Holy Land were happy with the result, especially with Meyer's relentlessness and merciless attitude as the game wore on. Luke Zimmermann summed it up nicely.
Urban Meyer wanted an angry team. While they were far from perfect, if anything, they played motivated, particularly from the second quarter on. While the early struggles will give plenty of teaching moments for a staff in many ways still new to Meyer himself, it's hard to argue with the results.
Furthermore, the fact that the Buckeyes only had three penalties was a sign that Meyer's new ways didn't result in a disorganized opener. There were no OSU turnovers, either. The first quarter aside, it appears that Ohio State will be a handful for the rest of the Big Ten.