Urban Meyer, who is 77–9 since becoming Ohio State’s head coach in 2012, isn’t used to defeat. But recently his Buckeyes teams have adopted an unbecoming trend: When they do lose, it’s in blowout fashion.
Start with the College Football Playoff semifinal against Clemson at the end of the 2016 season, when the Tigers pounded the Buckeyes, 31–0. Then last year, a Baker Mayfield-led Oklahoma team visited Columbus and found another gear in the fourth quarter to beat Ohio State 31–16, the future No. 1 NFL draft pick putting an exclamation mark on the win by planting an OU flag at midfield.