PASADENA, Calif. -- Scarlet and gray confetti glistened under the Rose Bowl's stadium lights. Coach Urban Meyer put an arm around his wife, Shelley, and the two strode together from a final trophy presentation to a final singing of Carmen Ohio.

The Urban Meyer era at Ohio State is over. It ends with an 83rd and final victory, the Buckeyes dusting off Washington 28-23 in a bucket-list Rose Bowl game for the retiring coach.

"Every week, every yard, every down, when we recruited these players, I just wanted to make sure that we made the great state of Ohio proud," Meyer said. "Once again, we weren't perfect, but we did a lot of good things."