I've got a confession to make: I've been rooting for Ohio State (at least in some capacity), since Urban Meyer took over as head coach.
Why? Well, the answer is somewhat convoluted.
I'm not an Ohio State fan. I'm not an alumnus. I don't have a brother, son, nephew, cousin or friend on the team. Crap, other than a quick drive-through (which included a stop at a fantastic Dunkin' Donuts, I must say) I've never even spent time in the state.
Nope, I'm not some unabashed Ohio State supporter. Honestly, I've not even a fan.
At least, I'm not a fan of Ohio State.
Instead, I'm simply a college football fan, and want as many good teams, spread out in as many different parts of the country as possible. Whether it's in Pac-12, SEC, or even if yes, the Big Ten (as crazy as it sounds, they are capable of playing football in the Midwest), give me as many quality teams, in as many parts of the country as possible and I'm a happy man.
That's also why I've been paying especially close attention to Ohio State over the last few years. We all knew that a perfect storm was brewing in Columbus; that when you put a truly elite coach (Urban Meyer), with a truly elite program, in a conference that was ripe for the taking, it was only a matter of time before the Buckeyes became college football's next super-power.
It was a matter of "when" not "if" the Buckeyes arrived.
Well after watching and waiting, and wondering if it might ever come (especially after a loss to....Virginia Tech? Huh??), that moment came Saturday. Following a dominating, 49-37 beat down of Michigan State on Saturday night, the Buckeyes have officially arrived as college football's next big thing.
And like it or not, they're not going anywhere either.
Now granted, Meyer had big wins at Ohio State before Saturday. Crap, they went 12-0 in Meyer's first year at the school, beating three ranked teams in the process. They won their first 12 games last year, and after starting 8-1 this year (including 5-0 and in conference), incredibly, Meyer still hasn't lost a regular season, Big Ten game since taking over in Columbus. His 32-3 record overall, ain't too shabby either.
So yeah, it's not like Urban Meyer has been "bad" at Ohio State...or even anything close to it.
But at the same time, Saturday just felt different.
Saturday wasn't about Ohio State doing what they'd done to other, marginal Big Ten opponents in the past. This wasn't about walking in, against some fringe Top 25 team that nobody knows anything about, blowing the doors off the stadium, and walking out with a lopsided W against a team that nobody was quite sure of anyway.
No, no, no...
Instead, it was about Urban Meyer taking his guys on the road, into a genuinely hostile environment, against a legitimately good team, with legitimate stakes on the line.... and not only winning, but dominating.
Like every great program, when the stakes got the highest, Ohio State played their best football Saturday night.
Put in a term that every fan, regardless of team or sport can understand, "Ohio State kicked a**and took names." There was nothing fluky about what the Buckeyes did, and no way to discredit this as just another win, against just another average opponent.
The numbers back it up. Ohio State put up 568 yards against a defense which entered the game giving up 279 per contest. They scored 49 points on a defense which was allowing a little over 20 per game, and hadn't allowed that many points since 2008, Mark Dantonio's second year at the school.
Put a different way, think about this: Remember how earlier this year, we all praised Oregon, and commended them for putting up big numbers against that stout Michigan State D?
Yeah, well Ohio State put up more yards and more points than Oregon did against Michigan State (491 and 46, respectively), and did it in a true road game, as opposed to the comforts of home. Simply put, this isn't a case where anyone, from any part of the country can throw out "The Big Ten is lousy" narrative. You know, unless they want to discredit Oregon as well.
So yeah, Ohio State was good Saturday. Really good. Like exceptionally, stupendously, "The Big Ten may never be the same" kind of good.
And what's even scarier is that this program is only going to continue to trend upward.
That's because for Ohio State it isn't just that they put up big numbers Saturday night, but also about who put them up. In the Buckeyes case, it was a bunch of true freshmen, redshirt freshmen and sophomores.
Meaning that no longer is Urban Meyer simply coaching up the guys he inherited from Jim Tressel. Instead, Saturday was about a bunch of Meyer's guys, brought in by Meyer's coaching staff, to star in Meyer's system, doing just that...starring, against another elite team.
Seriously, just go ahead and look across the stat sheet.
J.T. Barrett, an Urban Meyer recruit, threw for 300 yards.
Ezekiel Elliot, an Urban Meyer recruit, rushed for 154 yards.
Dontre Wilson, an Urban Meyer recruit, had 116 return yards.
On defense, Joey Bosa, Vonn Bell, Darron Lee... all Urban Meyer recruits. All with big games.
Now that's not to say that it was only Urban Meyer recruits who helped the Buckeyes win Saturday Michael Thomas --- who stuck with Ohio State after Jim Tressel was fired --- caught a game-changing, 79-yard touchdown bomb in the second quarter. Joshua Perry --- who committed to Tressel after his junior year --- led the team with nine tackles.
But at the same time, the vast majority of Ohio State's biggest contributors are only in their first or second years at the school. Which means that Meyer's grand plan; of building a National Championship contender in the Midwest is finally coming to fruition.
Whether that happens that year or not is debatable (admittedly, even Ohio State fans know they need help right now getting into the playoff in 2014). But what isn't debatable is this: Less than three years into Meyer's reign, after already winning 32 of 35 games he's coached, the Buckeyes are just now beginning to take the shape we expected when Meyer was hired in 2011.
And ultimately, that might be the scariest part of this all: Do you realize how little Ohio State will lose in the off-season? And how good they can be going forward?
Doing some quick math, here's what Ohio State returns next year: On offense, J.T Barrett will be back at quarterback (already prompting the "Will Braxton Miller transfer rumors"). Of their top five rushers, four of them aren't even eligible for the NFL Draft, let alone leaving (the only one that is, is back-up QB Cardale Jones). They could have back five of their top six pass catchers as well.
And that's just on offense! As for the defense, well, eight of their top 10 tacklers could be back.
That includes Bosa, who is currently sixth in the country in sacks (with 10 overall), and isn't even eligible for the NFL Draft. Neither are defensive backs like Bell, Eli Apple and Cam Burrows, or linebackers like Lee and Raekwon McMillan. And Perry, (a draft eligible junior) returns at linebacker, well, how many schools will have better defenses in 2015?
Not many, meaning that as good as Ohio State is now, they should only be better next year.
It's a scary thought for the rest of the Big Ten, and a scary thought for the rest of the country as well.
It's also college football's new reality: Ohio State has arrived.
And they're not going anywhere.
Aaron Torres is a show writer for Fox Sports Live and a contributor to FoxSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Aaron_Torres or e-mail at ATorres00@gmail.com.
