Ad Disclosure
SEC Network analyst scolds Ohio State, Urban Meyer for sloppy play
Published:
Ever since the clock struck zero at Ross-Ade Stadium on Saturday night, the criticism of Urban Meyer overseeing another Ohio State blowout loss has been at full steam.
SEC Network host Paul Finebaum believes Meyer is on his way out of Columbus. ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit says the head coach looks “anguished” and “erratic.” There’s been reports of friction between the coaching staff and the administration.
Over the last four days, Ohio State’s name hasn’t been said with much grace.
The latest to weigh in on the situation was SEC Network host Peter Burns, who’s blaming Meyer for the Buckeyes’ sloppy play recently. He’s also blasting the university for keeping the head coach around.
“Ohio State for the fourth straight week came out unfocused and undisciplined and guess what, this is what happens when you have Urban Meyer at the helm,” Burns said on SiriusXM’s College Sports Radio. “Ohio State, you brought this upon yourself with how sloppy and undisciplined this team is. When you’re worried about deleting texts off your phone, when you’re worried about sending out five apology tweets on social media because of your behavior, when you are worried about the findings of a sham investigation…this wasn’t a real investigation. When you have to worry about that stuff, you’re unfocused and that leads to your team being undisciplined.
“That’s Urban Meyer’s fault, but more importantly, it’s Ohio State’s fault. Their lack of leadership has hurt those kids. I think that team at Ohio State is as talented as anyone in the country right now, but they’re led by someone who is unfocused. That’s the reason they lost that game. I think they’ll lose another. At some point, Ohio State has to learn what’s better for their university. And guess what? It’s not Urban Meyer being the head coach.”
Ohio State’s performance was disappointing in West Lafayette on Saturday night. The Buckeyes are still 7-1 and still control their own destiny.
That’s not what folks are focusing on right now. Meyer’s character and attitude, as well as Ohio State’s play recently, has been at the center of the conversation.
If the Buckeyes don’t bounce back in a big way in a few weeks, the discussion about Meyer’s future in Columbus may get even more interesting.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB