Urban Meyer to Ohio State: Buckeyes Will Compete for Big Ten Title in 2012

Mark it down, Buckeyes faithful. Barring a catastrophic crackdown by the NCAA, Ohio State will be back in the business of contending for Big Ten titles next season with Urban Meyer at the controls.

There's too much talent in Columbus, and too little competition elsewhere, for the Scarlet and Gray not to be a contender. Meyer wouldn't have left his life away from coaching college football so readily if that weren't the case.

The Buckeyes' 3-5 conference record may not look like much, but dig a bit deeper and you'll find plenty of reason for optimism. For one, all five of Ohio State's Big Ten losses came by a touchdown or less, with the team owning second-half leads in three of the five. The most startling, of course, was OSU's 27-6 advantage over Nebraska in Lincoln, which eventually evaporated into a 34-27 defeat.

Such a loss points to a lack of maturity across the squad, which should come as little surprise considering that there are currently 10 freshmen and sophomores listed as starters on interim coach Luke Fickell's depth chart. That group includes true freshman Braxton Miller, who fell into his role as the Buckeyes' starting quarterback after Terrelle Pryor took off for the NFL and fifth-year senior Joe Bauserman proved ineffectual under center.

Miller posted by far his finest performance of the season in The Game, completing 14-of-25 passes for 235 yards, with two touchdowns and one pick. That's not to mention 100 yards rushing and a scamper to the end zone on 16 carries—all to keep OSU within striking distance at the Big House against Michigan.

It was the first time Miller had thrown the ball more than 18 times; he was successful more than eight times.

Expect to see many more games of that caliber from Miller going forward.

Despite all the obvious growing pains and the turmoil surrounding the various scandals that forced Jim Tressel into early resignation, the Buckeyes still managed to pull off a pair of impressive wins: a 17-7 decision at then-No. 16 Illinois and a 33-29 victory over then-No. 15 Wisconsin.

In consecutive games, no less.

The wins point to the Buckeyes' talent and the close losses to their lack of experience. The latter shouldn't be a problem next year, now that all those youngsters, particularly Miller, have adjusted to the college game.

The schedule won't exactly do Brutus any favors. OSU will have to leave the Horseshoe to play Michigan State, Penn State and Wisconsin and will "welcome" Nebraska and Michigan for home games.

Then again, the competition in the Leaders Division should be eminently manageable, if not downright mediocre. The Badgers, this year's champions, will lose a bevy of key contributors at graduation, most notably senior transfer and one-time Heisman Trophy candidate Russell Wilson.

The Nittany Lions will have to replace dominant defensive tackle Devon Still and their entire starting secondary, while handling the fallout from the Jerry Sandusky scandal that includes finding a permanent replacement for Joe Paterno.

Illinois will also be adapting to a new head coach following the firing of Ron Zook—the inevitable result of a season-ending six-game losing streak. Purdue is on the up-and-up after putting together a 4-4 record in league competition, but doesn't have the talent base to compete with Ohio State over the long haul.

And Indiana is, well, Indiana.

The path to the Big Ten Championship Game may be replete with pitfalls and potholes, but at least there's enough solid ground on which the Buckeyes can tread that they should be able to get there, wherever there may be.

Urban Meyer, then, becomes the proverbial rug that ties the room together, the perfect coach to actualize the collective potential of a Buckeyes' locker room full of high school All-Americans and All-Big Ten performers.

And if Meyer doesn't like what he sees, he can always hit the recruiting trail to fill in the gaps. He knows Ohio as well as any coach in America, as a native of the so-called "Football Belt" who busted his chops in the Buckeye State.

If his home territory doesn't quite cut it, he can always reach out across the country, just as he did when he was at Florida. (That's another state, by the way, in which he has very strong ties among the top high school programs.)

Once Meyer is in those living rooms, what kid in his right mind is going to turn him down? That would mean refusing an offer to play for a guy with two BCS National Championships on his resume at a perennial football powerhouse known for churning out Big Ten titles and NFL Draft picks.

Those battles may not earn the Buckeyes any additional wins next year, but they will help the program win the long-term war with the Wolverines.

Besides, OSU still has more than enough talent on hand, not to mention the right coach at the controls, to dot the "i" and cross all the "t's" in the 2012 Big Ten title.