Alabama Game Is Exactly Why Urban Meyer Came to Ohio State

COLUMBUS, Ohio — All things considered, Urban Meyer's first season at Ohio State couldn't have gone any better. Taking over a mismatched roster that was a season removed from going 6-7 and possessed no shortage of distractions, the Buckeyes won all 12 of their games in 2012, finishing third in the final AP Top 25 of the season.

But for Ohio State's two-time national champion head coach, that wasn't enough.

Because as the Buckeyes sat out the postseason due to NCAA violations committed by former head coach Jim Tressel and members of their 2010 team, Meyer opted to serve as an ESPN guest analyst for the BCS National Championship Game in Miami. It was there that Meyer witnessed Alabama dismantle Notre Dame en route to its third national championship in four seasons, giving him a firsthand look at just how far away his program was from capturing a crystal ball.

"Where are we? I don't like to deal in speculation, but I think we're a very good team that can compete with any team in the country," Meyer said in January of 2012. "But to say we could roll in there and beat a team like that, first of all I don't want to speculate, and then if I was going to give you an honest answer, I think right now we have too many holes to fill."

Nearly two full years later, Meyer's Buckeyes find themselves matched up with the Crimson Tide in the first-ever College Football Playoff. And the Ohio State head coach will now get to see just how close he's come to filling those holes.

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Meyer hasn't made any bones about targeting Alabama since arriving in Columbus, for reasons that extend beyond the Crimson Tide's status as the cream of the crop in college football. In fact, one could argue that Alabama is the biggest reason why Meyer currently finds himself coaching the Buckeyes.

After all, it was the Crimson Tide who brought an end to Meyer's budding dynasty at Florida in the late-2000s, topping the Gators in the 2009 SEC Championship Game on the way to their first national championship under Nick Saban. It was after that game that Meyer infamously suffered from health issues that would lead to a sudden short-lived retirement, before he ultimately called it quits in Gainesville a year later.

“I have a hard time remembering our address or phone number, but I could tell you every play in those games,” Meyer said of his SEC battles with Saban. "The 2009 Alabama team was arguably the best that I can remember going against or getting ready to prepare.”

As Meyer took a year off from coaching before returning to help rebuild the Buckeyes, the Tide continued to roll, capturing national titles in 2009, 2011 and 2012. This year, Alabama enters the College Football Playoff as the nation's top-ranked team, a 1/1 favorite to add to its trophy case, per Odds Shark.

That's why Meyer hasn't been shy about using the Crimson Tide as a measuring stick for Ohio State, especially on the recruiting trail. When 5-star safety Vonn Bell committed to the Buckeyes over Alabama on national signing day in 2013, he did so with clear intentions, sharing a part of Meyer's pitch in the process.

“We all on a mission. We want to do something special,” Bell said during his nationally televised announcement. “We’re gong to try to beat ‘Bama at national championships and try to get that crystal ball."

Later that day, Meyer didn't dispute using taking down Alabama as a recruiting tool.

"If that's a perception that we're chasing them, that's fine. I wouldn't disagree with you," Meyer said. "Anytime teams start talking about who is the king of the hill right now, those words might come out of people's mouths.

"Including mine, once in a while."

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press/Associated Press

Based on the makeup of Meyer's recruiting classes, it's been more than every once in a while. Since he took over the Ohio State program in 2012, the Buckeyes have consistently gone head-to-head with the Crimson Tide on the recruiting trail, pulling a number of key players from the grasp of Saban's stronghold in the south.

That's how Bell, Joey Bosa, Raekwon McMillan and Johnnie Dixon have each ended up in Columbus in the past two years, as Meyer has attempted to add SEC-caliber talent to his roster with Alabama in mind. It's also not a coincidence that Saban has extended Alabama's recruiting efforts to Ohio in recent years either, which some insiders have theorized as an attempt to force Meyer's focus back to the Buckeye State.

But despite the Buckeyes having seemingly been on a collision course with the Crimson Tide for the past three years, the matches between Meyer and Saban have been limited to the recruiting trail. That will change in the Sugar Bowl, when Ohio State will finally face Alabama on New Year's Day.

And according to Meyer, there may be more than the right to play in the national championship game on the line.

“It’s arguably the best program in America," Meyer said of Alabama. "To go take a swing and knock them off would be a monumental achievement for a bunch of guys from Columbus, Ohio.”

Ben Axelrod is Bleacher Report's Ohio State Lead Writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BenAxelrod. Unless noted otherwise, all quotes obtained firsthand. All statistics courtesy of cfbstats.com and recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.