The Game That Changed Urban Meyer's Ohio State Forever

COLUMBUS, Ohio — When Ohio State arrives in Bloomington for its matchup with Indiana this weekend, it will do so as college football's defending national champion, the nation's top-ranked team and the winner of its past 17 games—the country's longest active winning streak.

But when the Buckeyes take the field at Memorial Stadium for Saturday's showdown with the Hoosiers, the players who were still a part of the team three years ago will be reminded not of their successes, but rather a program-defining day that helped put Urban Meyer's program on the path to where it currently stands at the top of the college football nation.

Ranking sixth in the nation in yards allowed per game with projected first-round picks at every level of the unit, Ohio State's defense has been its strength through the first month of the 2015 season. The "Silver Bullets" also shined throughout the Buckeyes' run to the national title a season ago, shutting down all three Heisman Trophy finalists—Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon, Alabama's Amari Cooper and Oregon's Marcus Mariota—in three consecutive postseason games.

"The way our defense played at the end of last year was as good as I've ever seen," Meyer said in August.

Three years ago, however, such compliments from Ohio State's head coach when it came to his defense were more difficult to come across. In 2012—Meyer's first in Columbus—the Buckeyes defense simply didn't deserve the accolades it receives today, with Meyer reaching his breaking point during a 52-49 road win over Indiana that pushed Ohio State to 7-0 on the season.

And while he may not have realized it at the time, that breaking point would ultimately prove to be a turning point in his tenure as the Buckeyes head coach.

"I remember it very well," Meyer said of Ohio State's last trip to Bloomington. "That was a program-changer." 

SAM RICHE/Associated Press

It wasn't the closer-than-expected outcome that concerned Meyer, so much as it was the way it was arrived at. Favored by 19.5 points entering the contest, the Buckeyes jumped out to a 24-14 halftime lead behind big rushing days from then-quarterback Braxton Miller and running back Carlos Hyde.

After trading scores throughout the third quarter, OSU pushed its lead to 45-27 at the start of the final period on a Hyde one-yard touchdown, as all signs seemed to point to the Buckeyes cruising through the fourth quarter.

But due to the shortcomings of the Ohio State defense—which included fullback Zach Boren playing linebacker for the first time all season—that proved to be easier said than done.

It started with a 12-play, 76-yard Hoosiers drive that resulted in a D'Angelo Roberts one-yard touchdown run but was answered promptly by a 46-yard strike from Miller to deep threat Devin Smith to give the Buckeyes a 52-34 advantage with 6:47 left in the game. Despite the deficit, Indiana wouldn't concede just yet, with quarterback Nate Sudfeld finding Duwyce Wilson for a 12-yard touchdown to cut Ohio State's lead to two scores with just under two minutes remaining on the clock.

"It was a shootout," recalled Buckeyes defensive lineman Joel Hale, who was a sophomore at the time. "I remember at halftime, we were up by a good amount and just kind of let it go."

What happened next, however, may have been the most troubling part of his team's last trip to Bloomington for Meyer. The Hoosiers recovered an onside kick before driving 48 yards in 35 seconds, with Sudfeld's 25-yard touchdown pass to Stephen Houston setting up a successful two-point conversion rush from Cody Latimer to put Indiana within three points of pulling off the upset with 1:05 left in the game.

Fortunately for the Buckeyes, the bleeding would stop when wide receiver Corey "Philly" Brown recovered Indiana's ensuing onside kick, giving Ohio State possession and the ability to run out what was left on the clock.

Sam Riche/Associated Press

Despite pulling off the narrow escape, the Buckeyes defensive effort in Bloomington that night stuck with their head coach, who could be seen sitting glumly outside the visitors locker room as his team boarded the bus.

"That was one of the few times I've ever seen a defense quit playing hard, and that was a problem," Meyer said Monday. "Mistakes are one thing, but when I saw what I saw—that was not a good moment."

Meyer's words at the time—"I'm not happy at all with what's going on defense. That includes players, coaches," he said—were harsh, but his actions also spoke volumes. When the Buckeyes reconvened in Columbus on Sunday, their head coach opted to hold a "team meeting" with only the defensive side of the ball, a gathering that included an unfamiliar guest for such get together.

It was Meyer himself, who typically oversees the OSU offense.

"He had the whole defense in the team room, and he was going over the film with us, telling us things we needed to improve on," defensive lineman Adolphus Washington recalled. "That was the only time—and still the only time—that we did that."

The immediate results for the Buckeyes spoke for themselves, with Ohio State allowing an average of 303 yards and 20.4 points per game in its final five contests after surrendering an average of 400 yards and 24.5 points per game in its first seven. Ultimately, the Buckeyes would put together a 12-0 campaign in Meyer's debut season in Columbus but weren't eligible to play in the postseason due to NCAA violations committed by former head coach Jim Tressel and members of Ohio State's 2010 team.

The Buckeyes' defensive struggles would reappear a season later, crescendoing in back-to-back losses to Michigan State and Clemson in the Big Ten title game and Orange Bowl. But as opposed to 2012, it wasn't effort Meyer blamed for his 2013 team's shortcomings, rather a schematic issue, which led to the offseason hiring of defensive coordinator Chris Ash in 2014.

Sam Riche/Associated Press

Of course, it also hasn't hurt that with three more recruiting classes, Meyer has been able to add more talent to his roster, as 4- and 5-star prospects now litter Ohio State's depth chart on both sides of the ball. Washington, defensive end Joey Bosa, linebacker Raekwon McMillan and safety Vonn Bell give the Buckeyes a blue-chip prospect at every level of their defensive unit.

"A lot more talent. A lot more discipline," Hale answered when asked the difference between the 2012 and 2015 Ohio State defenses. "Overall, I just think our team is a lot better."

But with the Buckeyes heading back to Bloomington this weekend to take on the 4-0 Hoosiers, Hale admitted the Ohio State staff has already replayed the now-three-year-old film from their last trip to serve as a reminder that talent isn't always enough.

"That was a game-changer as far as how we approach," Meyer said. "If you don't play hard, you're not going to play."

It's a message that helped morph the Buckeyes from a program facing uncertainty to the now-defending national champions.

Ben Axelrod is Bleacher Report's Big Ten lead writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BenAxelrod. Unless noted otherwise, all quotes were obtained firsthand. All statistics courtesy of cfbstats.com. Recruiting rankings courtesy of 247Sports.