COLUMBUS, Ohio – An oft-repeated refrain in college football is that “October is for pretenders, November is for contenders” and Buckeye coach Urban Meyer says, when his team plays its first game of November, it will be as a contender.
Meyer says he’s reluctant to talk to his team – or reporters – about long-term goals for the season during the early weeks because so many things — like injuries and suspensions, both of which he has had to weather – can alter a team’s course.
With four games to play, he believes he can say it out loud: “We’re going to be in November and we are competing for a championship. You can bet the focus is very intense,” he said Monday.
The fourth-ranked Buckeyes (8-0, 4-0) have arrived at the start of the November stretch run with a perfect record and a world of possibilities, including an appearance in the Big Ten Championship Game Dec. 7 in Indianapolis.
That’s certainly the case heading into Saturday’s game at Purdue (Noon/BTN) and the three regular-season games that follow.
Ohio State leads Wisconsin (5-2, 3-1) by one game in the Leaders Division. The Buckeyes have never been to the conference title game, losing the division to the Badgers in 2011 and being ineligible last year.
Nothing is guaranteed in West Lafayette, though.
The Boilermakers (1-6, 0-3) may be bringing up the rear in the Big Ten, but they’ve beaten Ohio State in four of the last six games at Ross-Ade Stadium.