Meyer and his staff brought in a top five recruiting class while returning 20 starters and starting quarterback Braxton Miller for Spring and Fall camp.

[6] Ohio State starting quarterback Terrelle Pryor left the program as well before the 2011 season to enter the NFL supplemental draft, where he was selected by the Oakland Raiders.

[11] The running back position rotated between Jordan Hall, Carlos Hyde, Rod Smith and Bri'onte Dunn with Braxton Miller starting at quarterback.

Other key players to depart due to graduation included Joe Bauserman, Michael Brewster and J.B. Shugarts on offense and Dionte Allen, Tyler Moeller, Andrew Sweat, and Solomon Thomas on defense.

Paul Keels headed the crew with play-by-play, Jim Lachey with color commentary, Marty Bannister as sideline and locker room reporter and Skip Mosic serving as the pre-game and halftime show host.

The Buckeyes opened at a much faster pace than they did the previous week, with their first offensive drive of the game going for 71 yards and eventually ending with a touchdown on a Braxton Miller 37-yard run, giving Ohio State an early 7–0 lead.

[44] Following a drive filled with penalties, California was unable to take advantage of a 40-yard field goal, missing it and sending Ohio State into the half with a 20–7 lead.

[45] The Buckeyes faced the UAB Blazers of the University of Alabama at Birmingham for the first time ever on a mild afternoon at Ohio Stadium in front of a capacity crowd.

UAB went ahead 9–0 early in the second quarter; however, they only held the lead briefly as Braxton Miller and the Ohio State offense quickly put together a 75-yard drive, ending in a Rod Smith touchdown run.

As was the case earlier, the rest of the second quarter was a defense battle, with no one scoring and Michigan State kicker Dan Conroy missing a field goal, which would later prove to be the deciding points.

[56] After the Buckeye defense stopping the Spartans from scoring to take the lead, the Ohio State offense would run out the clock and end the game with a 17–16 victory.

[57] Ohio State ended the quarter with Carlos Hyde and Braxton Miller both scoring on touchdown runs, giving the Buckeyes a 35–24 lead at halftime.

A Bradley Roby blocked punt return and a Devin Smith touchdown reception from Braxton Miller allowed the Buckeyes to head into halftime with a 24–14 lead.

[64] An onside kick recovered by the Hoosiers allowed them to drive down and score on another pass touchdown from quarterback Nate Sudfeld, with the two-point conversion successful.

The extra point attempt by Paul Griggs was blocked and allowed Ohio State to take the lead later in the quarter, at 7–6, after a Braxton Miller touchdown run.

A Braxton Miller fumble for the Buckeyes and a Griggs blocked field goal for the Boilermakers would keep both teams out of the end zone for the remainder of the third quarter.

[74] Sam Ficken would kick a 27-yard field goal on Penn State's ensuing drive, giving the Nittany Lions their first offensive points of the day and closing the score to 14–10.

[71] Ohio State entered their annual matchup with Leaders Division foe Illinois undefeated and ranked sixth in the AP Poll.

[81] Braxton Miller moved Ohio State into good field position, which allowed Carlos Hyde to score his first touchdown of the game, giving the Buckeyes a 14–0 lead early in the second quarter.

Behind quarterback Curt Phillips and running back Montee Ball, the Badgers drove down and scored a touchdown on a Jacob Pederson reception with eight seconds left.

[81] Wisconsin, needing a touchdown to force a second overtime, was not able to get a first down and was stopped by the Buckeye defense, giving Ohio State the victory.

With Ohio State taking the early 7–0 lead, Michigan turned to starting quarterback Devin Gardner, who replaced Denard Robinson after his injury a few weeks earlier.

Ohio State was unable to get into the endzone on the ensuing drive, but were able to take the lead back from the Wolverines on a Drew Basil field goal, making the score 23–21 in favor of the Buckeyes.

[105] Thousands attended the rally, which featured the Ohio State University Marching Band, as well as comments from Gordon Gee, Urban Meyer and many of the seniors.

[107] In the weeks following the conclusion of the regular season, multiple Ohio State players were honored for their on-field performances with a variety of awards and recognition.

Quarterback Braxton Miller, guard Andrew Norwell, defensive lineman John Simon, linebacker Ryan Shazier, and cornerbacks Bradley Roby and Travis Howard were all named to the Media All-Big Ten First Team.

[109] Braxton Miller, Carlos Hyde, wide receiver Corey Brown, Ryan Shazier and Christian Bryant were named to the Coaches' All-Big Ten Second Team.

[118] Nathan Williams and Travis Howard were the only Buckeyes that participated in the 2013 East–West Shrine Game,[119] while safety Orhian Johnson represented Ohio State in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl.

On defense, Johnathan Hankins, John Simon, Etienne Sabino, Travis Howard, Nathan Williams, Orhian Johnson and Garrett Goebel all entered.

[121] In February 2013, seven Ohio State players were invited to the NFL Combine, including Johnathan Hankins, Nate Williams, Etienne Sabino, Zach Boren, Reid Fragel, Jake Stoneburner and John Simon.