Is Urban Meyer’s Ohio State offense close to turning into “Tressel Ball”?

“The talk around his offense lately has Urban Ball sounding a lot like Tressel Ball.”

-Doug Lesmerises, Northeast Ohio Media Group

Many programs would be ecstatic if they had a head coach who in his sixth season with the program has posted a 62-7 record and won a national title. Ohio State isn’t most programs though, and with the recent sluggish efforts by the offense, many are finding the Ohio State offense under Urban Meyer right now as frustrating as “Tressel Ball”. While the first few years under Meyer saw the Buckeyes field one of the best offenses in the country, but the offense hasn’t quite been the same since offensive coordinator Tom Herman left for the head coaching ranks.

The good news is unlike Tressel, Meyer has at least been trying new things with his offensive coordinators. Tressel stuck with Jim Bollman as his offensive coordinator during his tenure at Ohio State, while Meyer tried to shake things up by hiring Kevin Wilson to run his offense. So far the experiment hasn’t worked, with Ohio State struggling mightily against Oklahoma. The good news for Ohio State fans is there is still time for Wilson and the Ohio State offense to regroup and contend for a national title.

What doesn’t help Ohio State is many opponents have figured out with Meyer and the Ohio State want to do. Some opposing coaches have seen little imagination from offenses under Meyer over the years, seeing it as the same type of offense as what was ran when he made a name for himself at Utah. If Ohio State wants to stay a threat in the national title race, Meyer and Wilson may have to develop a game plan, which might be a little out of Ohio State’s comfort zone, but could catch opponents off-guard.

Meyer might have to make some even more drastic changes if he hopes to salvage this season, as the offense is still dealing with some of the issues that led to their downfall last year. There are still questions at the quarterback position with J.T. Barrett, and it doesn’t help that Barrett is getting no consistency from his wide receivers. At least this isn’t the first time Meyer and Barrett have faced some adversity from an early season loss, so don’t put it past the Buckeyes to right the ship quickly.

“We use (football) as a strength. It adds so much to the university. I love picking Urban (Meyer’s) brain.”

-Ohio State men’s basketball coach Chris Holtmann via Steve Helwagen, Bucknuts

After taking over for Ohio State coaching legend Thad Matta, Chris Holtmann needs all the help he can get. Not only did the former Butler coach get a late start on the transition to Ohio State after he was hired in June by the school, but he is also taking over an Ohio State team that has been trending downward over the past few years.

The new Buckeye basketball coach spoke with the media at halftime of Saturday’s night Ohio State football game against Oklahoma, and you can tell Holtmann was excited by what he saw at Ohio Stadium. Holtmann says he has invited Meyer to talk with some of the basketball recruits who were making campus visits, which also allowed Holtmann to see Meyer selling Ohio State to the recruits.

While talking with the media, Holtmann also gave a few updates on Ohio State basketball players. Holtmann confirmed sophomore Andre Wesson was medically cleared to return to the court after being out all summer. Also, Holtmann said Keita Bates-Diop was working his way back from the injuries he dealt with last season, and is Ohio State’s most versatile player. Both Bates-Diop and Wesson will be key for Ohio State this year if they want Holtmann to have a successful first season in Columbus.

The two-time defending national champion Ohio State men’s volleyball team found out their 2018 regular season schedule yesterday, as they try and win their third national title in a row. After starting off the season at home against North Greenville in early January, Ohio State faces a couple of early home tests. Not only do the Buckeyes play Stanford the following weekend, Ohio State also welcomes BYU the following day. The past two seasons have seen Ohio State take down BYU in the national championship game.

Following the contests against Stanford and BYU, Ohio State heads to Los Angeles, where the 2018 NCAA Championship will be played, to take on USC and UCLA. Ohio State then opens their Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association schedule in early February when they take on Ball State.

The MIVA Tournament takes place in the middle of April, which will give the Buckeyes a final tune-up before the NCAA Tournament starts with play-in matches on either April 27th or May 1st before the NCAA semifinals take place on May 3rd and the final scheduled for May 5th. Some early tough tests should be just what Ohio State needs as they should again be in the mix to contend for another national title.

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