Over the course of the last week, the Ohio State Buckeyes have: seen a talented defensive player lose an appeal with the NCAA and wind up permanently suspended; watched its star quarterback, who replaced its previous star quarterback, go down to injury; managed to gut out a victory over its archrival in the process anyway and; most horrifically, had to cope with a reserve go missing only to be found dead Sunday in a dumpster behind his apartment due to an apparent self-inflicted gun shot.

"Tough week," coach Urban Meyer said Monday at his weekly press conference.

About as tough a week as they come.

"This is so much deeper than lining up on a football field," Meyer said of the news of the death of Kosta Karageorge, a wrestler turned football walk-on, and the mourning, memorializing and questioning that comes with it.

This is what Ohio State is dealing with and this is what Meyer is leading the Buckeyes through, likely as well as any coach in America could. One of the chief reasons for his success through the years, and one of the chief reasons rival fans can't help but despise him, is his own profound confidence.

Meyer believes in what he is doing, how he is doing it and what will happen if everyone follows him precisely. He has all the answers. And even when he doesn't, he conveys to the outside world, and his coaches and players specifically, that he does. He's hard to rattle. Which is why the Buckeyes press on mindful and respectful of everything, but still focused on one big thing:

"It's 'Championship Week' here at Ohio State," Meyer said.

View photos Urban Meyer greets players before a game. (USAT) More

The week has a name because the week is planned. And the week is planned because competing for championships – in this case, the Big Ten title on Saturday against Wisconsin with a spot in the College Football Playoff still possible – is considered inevitable. It is just part of the annual calendar, like "That Team Up North Week."

Meyer is 24-0 in regular-season Big Ten games since taking over the Buckeyes, so you can hardly blame his faith in being here. In a career spanning four schools he's won two national titles and led two more undefeated seasons, so that speaks to his trust in the process. The Buckeyes grind.

This, however, is unlike any championship week, or any week ever, for Meyer.

It will require everything from breaking in a first-time starter (Cardale Jones) to replace an injured star (J.T. Barrett), who just a few months ago was a first-time starter replacing an injured star (Braxton Miller), against the league's top-rated defense … to carving out time for memorial services and emotional healing among the players.

This is where Meyer's resolve is most valued and most tested and where it should serve as a signal to a playoff selection committee that has the power to downgrade the Buckeyes based on what it perceives it lost by turning to another new quarterback.

The coach is asking for no such outside judgments, positive or negative. Don't consider them an underdog against Wisconsin. Don't consider them incapable if they otherwise deserve a spot in the final four.

Don't let the perception of an injury hurt more than the reality.

The team he puts on the field Saturday is his team. He'll handle the delicate balance of sensitive life issues and building up a young quarterback for a league title game the program has been pointing to since losing it a year ago. If his team is tough enough to persevere, then judge it on that.

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