Amid the mockery, criticism, and lament over the Ohio State Buckeyes’ avoidable loss to the Texas Longhorns, Nick Saban’s encouragement quietly stands apart. So far, every player is responding to the 24-23 loss differently. But in Saban’s eyes, Saturday’s turnout is a blessing in disguise to the Buckeyes because sometimes a great start to the season can get into a team’s head very quickly.
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The Buckeyes are undoubtedly clawing their way to reclaim the No.1 status they lost to the Longhorns in Austin. This, in Saban’s eyes, has the Buckeyes and their head coach Ryan Day in the right mindset, urging them to evaluate their faults and bounce back stronger for the remainder of the season.
“Well, I think players respond a lot better to bad things happening,” Saban, 74, said on The Pat McAfee Show. “I think the challenge is when you have a big win, how do you keep the players focused and not have the rat poison sort of affect them psychologically in terms of the things they need to do to improve?”
The Buckeyes, especially Day, are neck-deep in criticism after they shot themselves in the foot against the Longhorns. How does an elite, highly favored team lose after dominating three quarters and putting up a 20-point difference? Their loss is even more baffling because the Longhorns had scored just three points and were booed by their own fans who were still reeling from last year’s 14-7 defeat.
For anyone else, perhaps even the folks at Columbus, there is no coming back from this humiliation. Saban, however, differs. He opined that the nature of this loss is just the push Day & Co. need to redeem themselves against Kent State today.
“Because when you lose a game like Ohio State did, their players are going to be out to really prove that ‘this is not the kind of team we are. We can play for 60 minutes. We’re not going to lose our edge in a game again,’” Saban said on September 19.
What Saban said next seems like he drew from a deeply personal experience. “Sometimes when you win all the time, you need to lose just to get everybody back on track in terms of what they need to do to prepare the right way and go out there and be able to execute like they can. So I see Ohio State bouncing back with a vengeance.”
Saban wasn’t always the revered man that he is today. In fact, his stint with the Buckeyes was an eye-opener that shaped his playbook for the rest of his career. He was 30 when the Ohio State Buckeyes fired him because his secondary defense unit gave up over 240 passing yards and 2 touchdowns to Navy in the Liberty Bowl back in in Memphis on December 29, 1981. Although the Buckeyes won, it was a nerve-wracking close call that ended 31-28.
In a way, Saban lost the game. And he later admitted that his schemes were too complex for young players to grasp and execute. Humility, it seems, has been a core concept in his philosophy since. That is the same advice he has for the Longhorns.
Nick Saban’s advice to Texas for the season-long journey
If one loss does not define the Buckeyes, then neither does one victory define the Longhorns.
“I think Texas is going to have to do a really good job if they got an easy opponent, which will be easier for them,” Saban said of the Texas-UTSA showdown tomorrow. “What they need to do is to make sure that they don’t let the rat poison affect them. Because it’s early in the season, and how much you improve is going to be the key to the drill”
The Longhorns also have a lot of issues occurring of the field with the recent controversy around Holly Rowe and Arch Manning. Then their co-defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach, Johnny Nansen, is currently expected to serve a one game suspension after being arrested under the charge of driving while intoxicated, a Class B misdemeanor. These are distractions that the Longhorns need to handle and keep the focus on the game in front of them.
As for the Buckeyes, they ought not to lose hope over their national title run. Rather, make the best of their adversity. After all, the last time they won the Natty, that magical playoff run came after that loss to Michigan.