On Tuesday, Ohio State closed its 2018 season with a 28-23 victory over Washington in the 105th Rose Bowl game.
With that, the Urban Meyer era in Columbus came to an end. In December, Meyer announced he'd be retiring from his position has Buckeyes head coach following the Rose Bowl, citing health issues as the primary reason.
But before he handing the reins over to new Ohio State head coach Ryan Day, Meyer had one last speech to make. Addressing his team in the locker room following its win in Pasadena, the three-time national champion head coach thanked the Buckeyes' fanbase, as well as the players for sticking together throughout what was a turbulent season.
"How about Buckeye Nation, are you kidding me? We have a saying around here that, 'When I need you the most, you give your very best.' Never forget Buckeye Nation," Meyer said. "When we were moving back and forth, swaggering a little bit, the storm got heavy. Did Buckeye Nation ever turn their backs on Ohio State? Did you ever turn your backs on each other?
"But when I needed you the most, you gave your very best. You gave it at home against 'That Team Up North,' the second one in Indianapolis, Big Ten champs, [you'll get] a big ring. And on that ring, you're going to have a beautiful rose. And you are the Rose Bowl champions boys."
Meyer then proceeded to (literally) hand over his whistle to Day, who went on to address his new team.
"When I stepped into that role in August, we had a group of players and a group of coaches who had to step up their game," Day said, referring to his stint as Ohio State's interim head coach while Meyer was suspended. "Remember in that first meeting we said we all have to raise our game up? And everybody in this group did. And we wouldn't be standing here today if everybody in this room didn't step up.
"We wouldn't be here today if the culture that Urban Meyer built here wasn't the way it was. And so now we're going to keep moving this culture forward with the group here. And the reason why we can do that is because we can stand on the shoulders of the guys who have come before, the coaches that have come before, the adminstrators that have come before and the players. The seniors who are leaving here have left a legacy. And I'm proud to be charging this forward. I'm proud to be a part of this group and let's go get 'em. Go Bucks."
Meyer retires from Ohio State with an 83-9 record over the course of seven seasons at the school, including three Big Ten championships and the 2015 College Football Playoff title. Day, meanwhile, has spent the past two seasons as the Buckeyes' offensive coordinator and amassed a 3-0 record as the team's interim coach to start the 2018 season, while Meyer was suspended following an investigation into his handling of accusations of domestic violence made against former wide receivers coach Zach Smith.
