Ohio State Coach Urban Meyer Cements Legendary Status

College football certainly has its share of legendary coaches. Names like Bear Bryant, Bobby Bowden, Joe Paterno, Tom Osborne and Nick Saban come to mind, although there are many more.

After Monday night, another name should be added to the list. That name is Urban Meyer, who has cemented his legacy among the greatest coaches in the history of college football.

Meyer led his Ohio State Buckeyes to a 42-20 win over the Oregon Ducks on Monday in Dallas to win the first-ever College Football Playoff championship. In doing so, Meyer becomes just the second coach to win national titles at multiple schools. Meyer previously won two titles with the Florida Gators, in 2006 and 2008. Only Saban has done the same (with the LSU Tigers and the Alabama Crimson Tide).

And it wasn’t just the fact that Meyer won the title that makes him a legend. It was how he did it with this particular Ohio State team.

Ohio State lost its Heisman Trophy candidate, quarterback Braxton Miller, in the preseason. Meyer had to prepare backup quarterback J.T. Barrett, a freshman, to play right away. And while Barrett struggled a little early in the season, he was being mentioned as a Heisman candidate himself by the end of the year.

Then, in the regular season finale against the Michigan Wolverines, Barrett was injured and ruled out for the season. That meant that Ohio State would go to its third-string quarterback, sophomore Cardale Jones.

It would only be natural to think that the Buckeyes would have taken a step back playing their third-stringer. However, the effect on the team was exactly the opposite. Ohio State crushed the Wisconsin Badgers in the Big Ten championship game, 59-0. Then, in the national semifinals, the Buckeyes got past top-ranked Alabama, 42-35.

That win put Ohio State into Monday’s game, where they finished the deal by beating Oregon and Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota. Meyer kept the game play fairly simple, riding the legs of running back Ezekiel Elliott to victory. And in doing so, he become one of college football’s legendary coaches.

Tim Letcher is a contributing writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @TimLetcher , on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.