COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - 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 back in 2009, as Tim Tebow and the Gators tried to win a second straight national title, when Meyer was no longer 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 just short of accomplishing.
Meyer doesn't want to hear any talk of repeating or defending. Each team stands on its own. He does acknowledge 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 toll on Meyer back then he was ready to quit coaching.
The goal this season: To be vigilant in stamping out complacency while still allowing the Buckeyes - and himself - to appreciate accomplishments.
"You have to make sure everyone enjoys the journey," he said.
How? "To be determined."
The journey for Ohio State will begin at the top, just as it did for Florida in '09.
The Buckeyes are No. 1 in the Associated Press preseason Top 25 that was released Sunday. Since the AP poll started naming a national champion in 1936, 11 teams have won two titles in a row. The last was Alabama in 2012. Few teams in recent memory have been better positioned to repeat than Ohio State.
Florida in '09 was one of those teams. Like the Buckeyes, the Gators had a star-studded and experienced 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.
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, then quit again.
After a year away, and working for ESPN, he returned to his home state to coach the Buckeyes.