UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — What reaction did Urban Meyer have after No. 4 Ohio State’s 27-26 comeback against No. 9 Penn State?
The head coach put the Big Ten triumph by the Buckeyes (5-0, 2-0) into perspective after an emotional victory over the Nittany Lions (4-1, 1-1) Saturday at Beaver Stadium, rallying for 13 unanswered points in the final 6:42 of the contest.
Urban Meyer
On how Ohio State mounted its comeback…
“Well, (junior wide receiver Binjimen Victor) started that bad boy off, that comeback. That was one of the best plays — right in front of me on the sideline there, he went and attacked the ball and then the receivers got in defenders’ ways and blocked (their hearts) out and he made a play and also that gave the whole sideline hope. Defense gets the ball back to the offense, even though it’s way down deep in there, and then one of the great drives in Ohio State history.”
On what Ohio State’s 13 unanswered points in 6:42 to finish says about its offense and sophomore quarterback Dwayne Haskins…
“Yeah, the first half was awful in a lot of ways. Give credit to our opponent because that’s a hell of a team we just played. (Offensive coordinators) Ryan (Day) and Kevin (Wilson) did an excellent job making adjustments and started protecting him and keeping him upright, and when he’s upright, he’s very good. And our guys made plays, man.”
On the reaction to Victor after the 47-yard touchdown kept Ohio State alive…
“Biggest play of anybody’s career. No, he’s had three weeks of great practice. He’s one of those extremely talented, very good young man that just has not performed to his potential but he has been outrageous in practice and he’s — that’s a coming out party for him.”
On junior H-back K.J. Hill‘s 24-yard touchdown to put Ohio State ahead…
“List (fifth-year senior H-back) Parris Campbell in there and then obviously the unselfish play of (fifth-year senior wide receiver Terry McLaurin and then the offensive line started blocking those guys, because they were blitzing. At one point, it was seven out of 11 blitzes and that was about 70, 80 percent of the time they were coming after us. And then we start settling down, running the ball. But K.J. Hill … and Parris and those guys, they’ve been doing it for a long time for us and they’re playing at a high level.”
On what Ohio State did on offense to find a way against Penn State…
“Hats off to the defense, because they kept us in the game. As bad as the offense was in that first half — I want to say we had 100 yards or something — and they’re a very good defense. But we were not blocking them, we were not — just pitch and catch, we had a couple drops. We didn’t get the ball down field. But the halftime adjustments, give coaches credit, now, they obviously did a good job. We’re an offensive line-driven program and they controlled the game after we got going.”
On how Ohio State overcame its committed penalties and Penn State’s big plays…
“The penalties were, that’s awful. We had a facemask on a field goal I think. I’d like to see that. But we had a facemask on a field goal and some young players, we had an excellent punt return and we had it called back. Just some silly penalties from some young players and we’ve got to get that fixed because usually you don’t win a game like that when you do that. But you took care of the ball and protected the quarterback in the second half and our defense tackled against that darn quarterback now — he was running all over the place again.”
On sophomore defensive end Chase Young‘s two sacks, two swats and three tackles for losses…
“Boy, did he (emerge). He was outstanding and (junior defensive tackle) Dre’Mont Jones, it stuck a knife in our heart when he went down, but he was just a rolled ankle and he fought through it. I just saw him, it’s really bothering him now, but he stuck it out. Just great performance all the way around. And guys like (sophomore cornerback) Jeff (Okudah), when (junior cornerback) Damon Arnette went out now we had to make some substitutions on special teams because we were down to two corners at that point, Okudah and (junior cornerback) Kendall (Sheffield).”
On the emotions of Ohio State after the game…
“It’s great when you win.”
On how much satisfaction he gets when his players recruited to Ohio State step up and make plays…
“More than that, it’s satisfying to see guys just fight. That sideline was not giving up. There was a time, now — you looked up and I saw those pom-poms and the whole deal and I thought that was over — not our sideline. And I’m telling you, Ben Victor changed the whole game. Changed the whole dynamic of that game. And I think the stadium felt it, too. When he went in, now, you’re looking at a one-score game.”
On what Ohio State is concerned with other than penalties…
“You’ve just got to put a big circle around the first half — everything. We gave up a big hit, 95-yard touchdown pass or something against man coverage, 90-yard touchdown pass. But the biggest thing was offensively ineptitude, just not blocking guys and not executing. And then come back in the second half and it was phenomenal.”
On the fourth-and-5 for Penn State from the Ohio State 43 to seal the win…
“The quarterback (Trace McSorley) is their guy, obviously. That’s — he’s a winner, he’s a competitor and he’s a great, great player. So the conversation was that somehow they’re going to get him involved in that play. So (defensive coordinator) Greg (Schiano) came up to me and said, ‘OK, let’s burn a timeout. Let’s see what they’re in right before the snap.’ We did and I could hear over the headsets, ‘They’re going to try to get a zone read and get the quarterback involved.'”
