Ohio State vs. Nebraska: Why the Buckeyes Won't Let Urban Meyer Go to Penn St.

We have seen record-setting passing performances, incredible runs and plenty of upset victories. But as exciting as this season has been, college football enthusiasts have to be intrigued by the coaching carousel that is shaping up to take place this offseason.

Of course, the hottest name in the land when it comes to coaching vacancies will be former Florida head coach, Urban Meyer.

But where will he end up?

Meyer's name has been linked to several potential coaching openings, including: Ohio State, Penn State, or possibly even making the jump to the NFL.

But in reality, it's hard to believe that if Meyer does return to coaching, it wouldn't come down to Ohio State and Penn State for his choices. And if it does come down to those two schools, it would be even harder to believe that Ohio State would get beat out by Penn State in the Urban sweepstakes.

Let's be honest here, Luke Fickell might as well begin packing his bags up now because he's not going to be the coach of this Ohio State football team at the start of the 2012 football season. And that isn't necessarily all his fault. When you're playing without five of your best players, that certainly makes an impact. But this job is Meyer's if he wants it, no questions asked.

We can expect Ohio State to put the full-court press on Meyer to make sure he is their man. After all, this is a position that won't open again soon once they find their man.

Meyer was fantastic during his run at Florida, but this is considered a dream job for the man from Toledo. Meyer went to school at Cincinnati and was a graduate assistant at Ohio State from 1986-87. He knows the state, he knows the fans, he knows what Ohio State football is all about.

The only way that it makes sense for Meyer to consider Penn State over Ohio State is if more sanctions will be handed down to the Buckeyes football program. But the thought of returning home and bringing one of the most storied programs in college football history back to prominence has to be intriguing for Meyer.

Penn State will always be Joe Paterno's team because of what a legendary job he has done there. Meyer would always be in that shadow and stacked up against the success that Joe-Pa has had during his lengthy, successful tenure in Happy Valley.

But with Tressel forced out of Columbus, Ohio State is searching for that new identify to be the face of its storied program.

That man should be Meyer.