It was August 19, 2014. Urban Meyer’s Ohio State Buckeyes were preparing for the season after a disappointing performance in the Orange Bowl. That bowl loss followed Meyer’s first loss as Ohio State coach in the Big Ten Championship against Michigan State. Still, there was a sense that the Buckeyes could compete in the first-ever College Football Playoff.
Star quarterback Braxton Miller, who had just undergone surgery to repair a labrum injury sustained in the Orange Bowl loss, was expected to lead the Buckeyes to victory and even compete for the Heisman Trophy. But then everything fell apart. During an otherwise harmless throw, Miller injured his shoulder again, which turned out to be a labrum tear.
The Buckeyes’ fate suddenly lay in the hands of redshirt freshman JT Barrett.
The 2014 Ohio State Championship Run was born out of adversity
The loss of Miller at quarterback cannot be understated. Before his injury, he was a two-year-old Big Ten MVP, Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, Big Ten Quarterback of the Year and First-Team All-Big Ten selection. Prior to the 2014 season, Miller had two seasons of 2,000-plus yards passing.
He set career highs with a 63.5% completion percentage and 24 touchdowns. On the ground, he was the team’s second-leading runner in both seasons, totaling 2,339 yards and 25 touchdowns on the ground in two seasons.
He was third in the preseason Heisman Trophy odds, behind incumbent winner Jameis Winston and eventual winner Marcus Mariota.
In one go, it all went up in smoke.
The next man is up
After being thrust into the spotlight, it took a few weeks for Barrett to settle into his role. After a good, but not great, win over Navy, Barrett’s inexperience was evident. The Buckeyes then welcomed Virginia Tech to Columbus, and Barrett managed a 9-for-29 night with 219 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions. Despite his struggles, the Buckeyes reached midfield on a potential drive to tie the game, but then Donovan Riley intercepted him and ran it back 63 yards for a game-winning touchdown.
After that loss, Barrett was back in the swing of things. In Ohio State’s final two non-conference games against Kent State and Cincinnati, he threw for 642 yards and 10 touchdowns. Overall, he threw at least one touchdown in every game and scored multiple touchdowns through the air nine times.
Then, in the final game of the year, more adversity struck. Ohio State already had a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game, but the only goal was to pull off a 5-6 win over Michigan Quad. With 14:45 left in the game, Barrett pulled down an option on second and first attempt, was hit awkwardly in the backfield and did not get back up. With a slim 28-21 lead, the Buckeyes had to resort to their third quarterback, redshirt sophomore Cardale Jones.
Barrett’s season ended with a torn ACL after throwing for 2,834 yards and 34 touchdowns. On the ground, he ran for 938 yards and scored 11 touchdowns.
The Legend of Cardale Jones
The result was one of the most legendary, if not the most legendary, run by a backup quarterback spanning more than three games.
After a punt, Jones returned the ball seven yards with 8:10 left. The coaches didn’t let him do much in the final minutes of the game and Ezekiel Elliott ran the ball three times for a 44-yard touchdown. Then the defense made the ball unreachable with a scoop-and-score.
That early season loss, coupled with the fact that they were down to a QB3, had to impress the College Football Playoff committee. 558 total yards and a final score of 59-0 did just that. The Buckeyes crushed Wisconsin and overtook two by-play Big 12 co-champions to move into the first CFP.
In the CFP, Jones led the Ohio State Buckeyes to the team’s eighth national championship in 2014, thanks to two solid performances and an equally incredible two-game run by Elliott. Jones threw for 485 yards and two touchdowns.
He almost parlayed that run into an NFL draft pick, but ultimately decided to return in 2015. He ended up being a fourth-round pick by the Buffalo Bills.
Young Dollar
Ohio State’s 2014 season was only possible thanks to a handful of young playmakers. In total, the Buckeyes had three returning starters on offense and seven on defense. Two of those defenders were sophomores.
Barrett was a redshirt freshman. Elliott, the team’s leading runner with 1,878 yards and 18 touchdowns, was a true sophomore. Jones was a redshirt freshman. Curtis Samuel, the team’s third-leading runner, was a true freshman. Michael Thomas, the second-leading receiver, was a redshirt freshman. H-backs Jalin Marshall (redshirt freshman) and Dontre Wilson (sophomore) were used frequently. Redshirt freshman Billy Price and redshirt freshman Pat Elflein were the stars of the offensive line.
Defensively, it was more of the same. Joey Bosa led the defense with 21 sacks as a sophomore. Darron Lee was one of the best linebackers of the Urban Meyer era and he was a sophomore. Second-leading tackler Vonn Bell was a sophomore. Bell also led the team with six interceptions. Tyvis Powell was a redshirt sophomore. Eli Apple was a redshirt freshman. True freshman Raekwon McMillan was a strong presence in the linebacker rotation.
Meyer owed the title to his first two recruiting classes. Luke Fickell did a great job of recruiting future stars in his only season at the helm, despite the season ending.
The squad included 31 NFL draft picks, nine of which were first-round picks.
The first one.
The College Football Playoff era of college football has done a great job of quelling at least some of the most “deserving” arguments. Of course, there was some squabbling between TCU and Baylor in 2014. Every year one team has had an argument, but overall it has done a good job of crowning the right team.
The 2014 Ohio State Buckeyes were the first of a new era.
The team came together as a young group, built around a brand new, untested quarterback. But perhaps the biggest setback of the season was the tragedy surrounding Kosta Karageorge.
Karageorge was a walk-on nose tackle for the Buckeyes and also a wrestler. In late November, Karageorge was reported missing by his mother after some disturbing news. Then, on November 30, about three days after he was reported missing, he was found in a dumpster next to his apartment with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
In his athletic career, Kostageorge suffered at least 15 concussions, and it is believed there were many more. He suffered from stage 1 chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Although the autopsy and diagnosis found that CTE could not be linked to the suicide, his condition was reportedly concerning this week.
The tragedy has strengthened Ohio State’s team and opened up new opportunities for the Buckeyes.
The 2024 season will mark 10 years since the Buckeyes last won the national championship. It took 12 years for the 2002 team to take home the title in 2014. Before that, it was 32 years.
Ryan Day’s team will be very different from the 2014 edition. Most importantly, it will be full of experienced players. Time will tell if this year’s team has what it takes to win the expanded CFP. The 2014 team certainly did.
