Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Urban ‘legend’ smells like roses in last game
PASADENA, Calif. — Urban Meyer said he decided to end his coaching career at Ohio State partly because of the stress inherent in this high-intensity job.
The pressure cooker was on display as his Buckeyes blew most of a 25-point lead in the fourth quarter and had to recover a last-minute onside kick to win the Rose Bowl.
But the stress is over. Meyer is going out as a first-time Rose Bowl champion.
Dwayne Haskins passed for 251 yards and 3 touchdowns, and Meyer headed into retirement with a 28-23 victory after the No. 6 Buckeyes held off No. 9 Washington’s comeback in the 105th Rose Bowl on Tuesday.
After the confetti flew in the north end zone, the Buckeyes gathered around Meyer for one last celebration of their coach. He is walking away after going 83-9 at Ohio State with one national championship, three Big Ten titles and this Rose Bowl victory, the Buckeyes’ eighth overall in the Granddaddy of Them All.
“I’m a very blessed man,” Meyer said. “I’m blessed because of my family, [but] this team, this year, I love this group as much as any I’ve ever had.”
Parris Campbell, Johnnie Dixon and Rashod Berry caught TD passes in the first half for the Buckeyes (13-1), who took a 28-3 lead into the fourth and seemed to be cruising to a blowout.
But running back Myles Gaskin threw a touchdown pass and rushed for two more scores for the Huskies (10-4), scoring from 2 yards out with 42 seconds left.
The Huskies got no closer. The Buckeyes intercepted Jake Browning’s pass on the two-point conversion attempt, then recovered Washington’s onside kick.
“We’re going down as one of three teams in Ohio State history to win 13 games,” Buckeyes defensive end Chase Young said. “Legendary team. Legendary coach. We’re all legendary right now.”
Meyer cited his health last month in his decision to step down. A cyst in Meyer’s brain causes severe headaches that are even worse for a man who said he gets not just nervous, but “deathly ill” before big games.
Meyer largely refused to reflect publicly on his career during the month since he announced his plans. After he shook Washington Coach Chris Petersen’s hand, raised the trophy and walked off the Rose Bowl turf, Meyer finally thought about the journey that brought him back to his home state for a seven-year tenure.
“Every week, every yard, every down, when we recruited these players, I just wanted to make sure that we made the great state of Ohio proud,” Meyer said. “And once again, we weren’t perfect, but we did a lot of good things.”
Browning passed for 313 yards and Gaskin rushed for 121 in the final game of the four-year starters’ careers at Washington, which has lost three consecutive New Year’s Six bowl games.
But after three poor offensive quarters, the Pac-12 champions made it interesting late. The Huskies racked up 266 yards of offense in the fourth, but they had fallen too far behind in their first Rose Bowl game appearance in 18 years.