Former Ohio State Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer is already backing the defending national champions to beat the Miami Hurricanes.
Even though Meyer is confident in the Buckeyes' ability to overcome a stingy Hurricanes front, it's the offensive side of the ball where Meyer said he feels current coach Ryan Day has them trending in the right direction.
With offensive coordinator Brian Hartline bolting out of Columbus to become the new coach at the University of South Florida next season, Day's decision to handle the majority of the play-calling duties was praised by Meyer.
“Ryan Day’s an elite play-caller,” Meyer told Fox Sports' Colin Cowherd Monday. "So there will be no drop-off. He’s knee-deep in the offense, and I think he made the right decision here. No offense to Brian Hartline, but Brian Hartline’s the head coach of South Florida. Ryan has been a play-caller for most of his career. He certainly was for me, and I witnessed it — he’s fantastic.”
With Meyer's confidence in his former assistant, this should give Day plenty of reassurance that everything is happening for a reason.
It's unclear whether things will get contentious, but it's highly unlikely given the way Day has spoken about Hartline's next steps.
"Yeah, so first off, we're just really happy for Brian and the opportunity he's getting. It's such a strange calendar, and the timing is brutal. But he's handled it great, as you can imagine," Day told reporters.
Day mentioned that despite him calling plays, a "group effort" is going to be implemented.
"Everybody will be involved with the play calling," Day said. "Ultimately, it'll be my decision what calls go into the game in this game. I kind of wanted to take that off of Brian's plate as we head into the playoffs because he's got so much going on with what he's trying to do."
Nonetheless, though, the Buckeyes are in a transition phase.