Urban Meyer was all business when he stepped off Ohio State’s plane, droning on about depth chart rearrangements and matchup issues.
But one thought produced a smile. For the first time since leaving the Gators three years ago, Meyer is coaching in Florida.
“Oh yeah, I love Florida,” he said before boarding the team bus. “It feels great to be back.”
It will feel especially great Friday. His Buckeyes, the No. 7 team in the nation, are in town to take on No. 12 Clemson in the Orange Bowl (8 p.m., ESPN).
For Meyer, that means a return to Sun Life Stadium, where Tim Tebow led Florida to the 2008 national championship.
“There will be good memories, sure,” said Meyer, who won two titles and went 65-15 in six seasons with the Gators. “But I’m just here to try to win the game.”
There are plenty of story lines beyond Meyer’s first game back in Florida, and this should be one of the most compelling collisions of the bowl season. Both teams began the year as national championship contenders and have potent offenses. Ohio State’s Braxton Miller and Clemson’s Tajh Boyd are two of the most electric quarterbacks in the nation.
Furthermore, this is a landmark for the Buckeyes (12-1). Mired in scandal and mediocrity, they have not played in a game of this magnitude in three years.
They lost coach Jim Tressel to a forced resignation over NCAA violations in 2011 and stumbled to 6-7 under Luke Fickell that season. With Meyer already in place as the coach-to-be, they finished by losing to a struggling UF team in the Gator Bowl.
Once Meyer finally took control, Ohio State caught fire. He went 12-0 his first year with no payoff because of a bowl ban. He started 12-0 this year, running his personal winning streak to 25 games, before the Buckeyes squandered a chance to play for the national title by falling to Michigan State 34-24 in the Big Ten championship game.
Had Ohio State won, it would be preparing to face No. 1 Florida State next week in California. Instead, it ceded that right to Auburn and came here for its first Orange Bowl since 1977.
However, this is a welcome consolation prize. The combination of the bowl drought and the criticism the Buckeyes have heard since blowing the Big Ten title game has them eager to get rolling again.
“We need to forget about that game,” said linebacker Ryan Shazier, a junior from Fort Lauderdale. “Everybody says our defense isn’t that good because of the last two games we played, and we’ve gotta show everybody how good we actually are. We had little mistakes, and we’ve gotta get everything right for this game.”
Meyer said it did not take much to redirect his players’ attention toward the Tigers (10-2) after missing out on the trip to Pasedena.
“The fact that we’re playing Clemson in a BCS bowl game wakes everybody up real fast,” he said.
The only major personnel issue Meyer mentioned was the absence of standout defensive end Noah Spence, who did not fly down with the team because “he had some personal issues at home.” Meyer did not know if Spence would be available for the game.
The Tigers landed Sunday afternoon and will begin practicing Monday at Barry University. Ohio State will spend the week working at Nova Southeastern.
These teams could challenge the Orange Bowl’s all-time scoring record. That mark was set when Clemson lost to West Virginia 70-33 in 2012.
The Tigers and the Buckeyes have top-30 defenses, but both are better known for their prolific offenses. Ohio State was fourth in the country with 46.3 points per game this year and topped 60 three times, while the Tigers were tied for ninth at 40.2.
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