Columbus, Ohio • Victory meal is a tradition for Urban Meyer's teams and pretty much a weekly occurrence during football season since the coach got to Ohio State in 2012 — just as it was when he was at Florida.
There was a time in 2009, as Tim Tebow and the Gators tried to win a second straight national title, when Meyer was not savoring success.
"I just remember that sometimes I'd go in there real fast, rush upstairs and start watching film and all that," Meyer said of a season when the fear of losing overtook the joy of winning.
This season the defending champion Buckeyes will try to do what those Gators fell short of accomplishing.
Meyer doesn't want to hear any talk of repeating or defending. He does acknowledge that the similarities between the 2009 season and the one approaching for Ohio State could make it his most challenging yet with the Buckeyes. Pursuing perfection took such a physical and mental toll on Meyer back then he was ready to quit coaching.
The goal this season: To be as vigilant as ever in stamping out complacency while still allowing the Buckeyes — and himself — to appreciate accomplishments.
"You have to make sure everyone enjoys the journey," the former Utah coach said.
How? "To be determined."
The journey for Ohio State will begin at the top, just as it did for Florida in '09.
Like the Buckeyes, the Gators had a star-studded roster: Tebow, Percy Harvin, Brandon Spikes, Joe Haden, to name a few players. Ohio State's power-packed lineup includes Ezekiel Elliott, Joey Bosa, Vonn Bell and not one but two of the best quarterbacks in the country — J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones.
Another similarity: Meyer will have a new offensive coordinator season. The 2009 season was Meyer's first at Florida without Dan Mullen, who left to become Mississippi State's coach after the Gators beat Oklahoma in the BCS championship game. After Ohio State beat Oregon to win the first College Football Playoff, Tom Herman left to take over at Houston.
Still, the expectations could not be higher in Columbus, and when that happens it can feel like winning isn't enough. That was the case in 2009.
Former Florida assistant Dan McCarney, now the coach at North Texas, recalled an October game at LSU in which the Gators smothered the Tigers 13-3.
"We're in the locker room and I thought, did we win this thing or did we lose?" McCarney said. "It just didn't feel we were enjoying it the way we should have with a victory like that."
Florida's offense was one of the best in country that season, but without Mullen when it sputtered even a little, Meyer took added responsibility to try and fix it.
"It just seemed like it was harder and harder as the season went on," McCarney said.
Meyer would not disagree. Florida pounded rival Georgia 41-17 at the end of October, but he knew something wasn't right.
"My mind was kind of shot. I remember walking into victory meal and sitting down real fast and finally saying, 'I'm going to enjoy this,'" Meyer said this past spring. "I look around, 'Where's everybody at?"
Chest pains sent Meyer to the hospital after Florida lost the SEC championship game to Alabama, ending hopes of another national title. He lost 30 pounds that season. Not long after the hospital scare, he stepped down as Gators coach only to change his mind and return for one forgettable year — and then quit again.
After a year away, and working for ESPN, he returned to his home state to coach the Buckeyes, vowing to strike a better balance between football and family and to take better care of his health. That now famous hand-written contract his daughters made him sign still hangs on his office wall. His friends say he's better equipped to handle what lies ahead.
McCarney saw a difference in January when he visited practice a few days before the Oregon game.
"He had this big grin on his face," McCarney said. "Just the confidence that he had and the comfort level and peace of mind that he had to me ... Urban rarely when I was around him felt that way, looked that way a couple days before a huge game like that."
Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer, center right, stands on the stage after the Sugar Bowl NCAA college football playoff semifinal game against Alabama, Friday, Jan. 2, 2015, in New Orleans. Ohio State won 42-35. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer during the first half of the NCAA college football playoff championship game against Oregon Monday, Jan. 12, 2015, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
FILE - In this Aug. 16, 2015, file photo, Ohio State coach Urban Meyer speaks to reporters during the university's NCAA college football media day in Columbus, Ohio. Since taking over at Ohio State, Meyer has insisted he is a changed man, just as intense but better able to enjoy success. This season, will put Meyer's new outlook to the test. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon, File)
