Ohio State arrived in New Orleans where the media was waiting for it at the airport Saturday afternoon.
Here’s some of what Coach Urban Meyer and a couple of players had to say about the upcoming Sugar Bowl against Alabama on Jan. 1 (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN):
“It’s great to be here and it’s great to represent the Big 10 conference, the Ohio State University and a football team that is very excited to be here. I have made it very clear, I haven’t had to make it very clear, but it has been very clear that this is history. It’s the College Football Playoff and what a great place to have it in New Orleans and at the Sugar Bowl. We are honored to be here.”
(on the demeanor of the team right now and if he likes what he saw before they left home) “I think you know the answer to that, I didn’t like it, I love it and our guys went through finals, went through a couple of phases and Christmas and then came back bright eyed and ready to go. You’d have to really check the pulse of a human being if you’re not in a great mood to be headed where we are headed and that’s the Sugar Bowl against a great team. It’s a playoff and that is the unique thing that we know we do the best we can and win a game, it’s not the end. It is a much different feel than a regular bowl game.”
(on if everyone is here who is expected to be here) “Everybody’s here who should be here. Dontre (Wilson) is 50-50 for the game, he is still in a boot but there are still a few plays we are hoping to get out of him for the game. Everybody else is ready to go.”
(on if he wants his players to have a bowl experience this week or is the mindset more how you would head into a championship game) “It is more of a championship game, you hear the word playoff, I use it a lot; it’s a playoff game. I don’t know if it is a lot different, obviously we are trying to win a game, but it’s just a different feel. I was talking to our strength staff about it and you hear the term playoff and you just know this is not it, there’s one more.”
(on if its concerning that his players haven’t been in a position like this before and Alabama players have) “I am concerned about everything. I am more concerned about the great players they have and I don’t want to de-value the fact that they have been in a championship atmosphere before. Our guys have been there twice now, Big 10 championship game, the last two years, but there is probably a little bit to what you said (about the mental state of the players having been in this position before). There is nothing we can do about that.”
(on what jumps out at him about Alabama) “The quality of players, I think they won the recruiting battles every year for however long it has been and you can see all of the development of players that they have. I think the biggest thing is the depth and rotation of guys that push on the defensive line. That is what for years, in theory, has separated the SEC from other conferences, and you can see it with this team. There are ten to twelve defensive linemen that they play.”
(on if the team has healed up and are fairly healthy after the three weeks off) “Our guys have a lot of pep in their step and I think we have handled it the right way. Obviously, we’ve got one more tough day of practice and then we’ll start to back off and get them ready for the game.”
(on if he has talked to NFL colleagues on how to treat preparation for a playoff/championship format) “I just kept it as we are treating this like a one game season and then worry about next week. There is temptation, I remember in the summer saying maybe you take part of your staff and have them start watching Oregon and Florida State, but there is no way, you just don’t have the man power and certainly not playing the number one team in the country do you worry about anyone else. We are playing ‘Bama.”
(on having a young team and if he is surprised he is here) “Earlier in the year I would have been surprised, but not now because I have seen our team practice and play, and especially after we played in that championship game, I am not surprised anymore. If you would have told me earlier in the year, maybe so, because they weren’t playing like a championship level team. The good thing is I will be back here a couple years in a row because we have a good, young team coming back.”
(on the city having distractions and general rules for his team) “We have had talks and if we have to have a conversation about curfew, there we will be a curfew, there will be bed checks, and we will get beat upside down, inside out if we are worried about that kind of stuff. I don’t think we have to worry about that with this team, but there are rules of where to go and where not to go. We practice in the mornings so there will be early days for our coaches and players so I don’t anticipate an issue.”
(on arriving on a 747 and if he’d call that arriving in style) “First time I have been on one of those, I actually walked upstairs to see what it looks like. Style, I guess.”
(on how he would describe himself physically and emotionally compared to last time he was at the Sugar Bowl) “Well, it was a long time ago. We won the game and played well that day. We played Cincinnati and scored a lot of points. (Tim) Tebow threw for 400 plus yards and that is all I remember about it and it was a great experience.”
(on Cardale Jones) “He is doing well. I’d imagine you will get some time with him this week. He had a great week of practice.”
OHIO STATE DE ADOLPHUS WASHINGTON
(on the team’s attitude as they landed) “We had a very good practice this morning. We are still getting ready and preparing for them. To get to rest on that plane, I hope that helped because that plane was wonderful. We are happy to be down here in New Orleans and are ready to get the job done.”
(on the bowl experience compared to the playoff game) “We are taking a playoff approach to it. It could be a one-and-done game. It’s just a different mentality to play for with the playoff game because you have two things to play for: the bowl game and a national championship game.”
(on the reality of the game now that the team has arrived) “Yeah, it hasn’t kicked in yet because I’m half asleep from getting off the plane. But once we get to the hotel and get moving around, I’m sure it will feel different.”
(on what he sees on film from Alabama that jumps out to him) “They have a lot of explosive players on offense. The receivers, running backs, the quarterback and offensive line are very good. We just have to come out and be on our A game just like we did against Wisconsin. If we played like we did against Wisconsin, we will be fine.”
(on the reaction of the team while practicing after the break) “We didn’t have a bad reaction. On our first day, we were in just shells running around and getting back in shape. I feel like we put together a pretty good practice this morning coming after break. So when we get down here tomorrow to practice, we’ll be fine.”
(on his feelings towards their potential coming of the break and big win in the conference championship) “About Tuesday night of our break, a lot of the guys on the defensive line in our group message were texting each other talking about how we missed each other. We aren’t used to being away from each other for that period of a time throughout the season. So I think that our guys are anxious to get back together to get this win against Alabama.”
(on the mindset of the team) “The mindset of this team is to go out there and win. We are very confident in what we are doing. Everyone knows about Alabama, how they are and how they win championships. But we feel like if we come out there and play the way we did against Wisconsin, there isn’t anything that we should worry about. And the way we prepare, there isn’t any reason to worry about what they do; it is about what we do.”
OHIO STATE TIGHT END NICK VANNETT
(on the team rules coming into the game) “We’re taking a business approach to it, but at the same time we’re going to have fun. We’re going to enjoy the Sugar Bowl, but it’s a business trip. We have a goal; we’re going to do our best to achieve it.”
(on what they got done most in Columbus the last 2 weeks) “We worked on the fundamentals. We had so much time off, the whole month, just to work on things. We kind of referred back to the fundamentals and studied the game plan this past week. I think we’ve done a really good job preparing for them.”
(on studying Alabama on film and how they match up) “They’re a heck of a team, but at the same time they’re playing a good team too. I think it’s going to be a great match up. We’re excited for the game. We can’t wait.”
(on what it means to him to be part of first College Football Playoff) “It’s exciting. I think we’re all excited that we’re representing the first ever college football playoffs. But like I said, we’re taking a business approach to this and we’re going to do whatever it takes to win.”
(on if they have gotten over the shock of getting here to the playoff game) “I don’t know if it was so much shock. I think after the game we played in the Big 10 championship, there’s no way they’re going to let us out of this game. I think it’s going to be a great matchup. We prepared for them well, I’m sure they prepared for us well. So you know it’s going to be war out there.”
(on the team mindset about being an underdog in this game) “We were the underdog last time, you saw that, but we’re not really too worried about that. We’re focused on just preparing for ‘Bama and like I said I think we’ve done a really good job doing that. Come January 1st, we’ll see what happens.”
(on if at this point there are any underdogs) “You can look at it that way, but I think these are the top 4 college football teams in America. I think they are all evenly matched, so if there is an underdog, I don’t think they’re too much under the line than the other team so I think we’re evenly matched with Alabama. It’s going be a great show.”
(on Cardale Jones and what he expects out of him since he had a month to prepare) “He has a lot of charisma to him; even at practice he’s got a lot of confidence in himself. And it’s easy to have a guy like that for other guys to find confidence in him. It’s been easy offensively when you have a guy to step into the role, take the leadership role and live up to it. He’s done a really good job being a leader for the team and moving our offense forward.”
Christopher Walsh has covered Alabama football since 2004 and is the author of 19 books. In his free time, he writes about college football.
