Ohio State Football: How Urban Meyer suspension impacts Buckeyes’ first three games

Urban Meyer was suspended for the first three games of the 2018 season. How will the loss of Meyer impact Ohio State football?

Urban Meyer has already been on administrative leave in the preseason lead-up to the 2018 kickoff. As Ohio State investigated what Meyer knew about the domestic violence charges against receivers coach Zach Smith, the school determined that their head coach did not do enough to properly report what he knew.

It wasn’t entirely surprising that the school decided to retain their national championship-winning head coach. Even though they had sufficient grounds to part ways with Meyer with cause, Ohio State opted to make an exception to its zero-tolerance policy for failing to report knowledge of domestic violence within the campus community through proper channels.

Instead, they decided to suspend Meyer for the first three games of the season. That covers the non-conference schedule for the Buckeyes this season. In a year of transition, these three games against fellow Power Five members will help determine whether they remain a top-10 team through Meyer’s time away from the sideline.

Can Ohio State remain on track to defend their Big Ten title? Will the Buckeyes keep themselves in the running for a shot at reaching the final four of the College Football Playoff? Let’s look at their three opponents over the course of Meyer’s suspension and see what if any impact the suspension might have.