The message mixed in with the carnage is simple: “You only get one shot. At all cost make it count. Beat Michigan State.”
The Spartans made the most of their chance against Ohio State last year, pulling out an improbable 17-14 win over the second-ranked Buckeyes despite having to play without injured quarterback Connor Cook.
The upset ultimately gave MSU a berth in the Big Ten championship game.
It left Ohio State, the defending national champion, on the outside looking in not only on championship weekend but also when the second College Football Playoff was held.
So Meyer’s latest psychological ploy seems like more than a timely play on recent events — the UFC held one of its best fight cards in recent memory last weekend in New York City — but also an appropriate metaphor for Ohio State’s season.
One moment can change everything in college football, as it can a mixed-martial arts fight in which highlight-reel knockouts are more prevalent than boxing.
“You only got one shot, yeah,” offensive guard Billy Price said. “It’s three minutes a round and you’ve got to make sure you go out and execute.
“It’s nasty. You’ve only got one shot, and you better hit that guy square.”
He also agreed the imagery could help a team that still starts only a handful of seniors stay focused during a week that has already included a lot of talk about the playoff race and Ohio State’s potential to be left out of the Big Ten championship game again if things don’t break the Buckeyes’ way.
“Especially since we’ve got a quote-unquote young team, we have to stay focused on the task at hand,” Price said. “If you start looking at all these other elements in the big picture of things, you lose focus on what really matters at this moment. So right now we only have one shot, to take care of Michigan State. After that we have one shot, to take care of the team up north. So it’s a two-game season. We have to make sure we go out there and prepare.”
The Spartans are enduring a tough season, having already lost seven games after going 36-5 with two Big Ten championships from 2013-15.
They are still likely to try to challenge Ohio State’s toughness up front, though, with bruising sophomore running back L.J. Scott.
A Hubbard, Ohio, native, Scott has run for 775 yards this season. He is averaging 5.2 yards per carry.
“He runs with power behind his pads,” Ohio State linebacker Raekwon McMillan said. “Not a lot of guys do that nowadays so it’s something not a lot of people see. He’s a great runner so we’ll see what happens Saturday.”
While the Spartans offensive line has had some injury struggles for a second consecutive season, there is no mistaking the style of play they want to impose on any game, especially one in which they are sure to be an underdog.
“They bring a level of physicality to the line of scrimmage,” McMillan said. “It’s all about creating a new line of scrimmage. When their o-line can get push up to your linebackers, that’s an easy four or five yards every play.”
Scott ran for 58 yards on 13 carries last season as the Spartans pulled off their upset at Ohio Stadium.
“You’re getting tired by the end of the game,” McMillan said. “Their level of physicality, man, it’s hard to stop sometimes.”
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