When Urban Meyer was unveiling his spread offense during his first head coaching job at Bowling Green, he invited his mentor, former Ohio State coach Earle Bruce, to visit practice and make some observations.

Although Meyer was sending tailbacks up the middle out of those multiple-receiver formations, Bruce wasn’t initially impressed.

“Earle said, ‘What the hell is that?’ “ Meyer recalled during a preseason media session. “I said, ‘Coach, it’s the off-tackle power run — your base play. He started watching, and he loved it.

“He knows we’re a physical, power football team that runs the ball from a variety of sets.”

Although the first-year Buckeye coach is still spreading the field with as many as five receivers, he’s never been one to throw the ball at a high rate like some who operate out of that system.

Meyer has always relied on a healthy mix of passing and rushing — and he’s absolutely adamant about having a team that’s capable of running between the tackles.

The Buckeyes are second in the Big Ten and eighth nationally with an average of 263.6 rushing yards per game. In their last two outings, they racked up 371 on the ground against Nebraska and 353 against Indiana.

Junior running back Carlos Hyde had 156 yards and back-up Rod Smith 40 against the Hoosiers, while quarterback Braxton Miller ran for 149.

OSU running backs coach Stan Drayton was with Meyer at Florida and said the Buckeyes are utilizing the Gators’ offense with a few minor tweaks.

“The beauty of this offense is it fits the skill of our players. It can always be adjusted to the skill of our personnel,” Drayton said. “We’ve always been a power, inside-zone offense no matter where we’ve been. The difference at Florida is you were doing it with guys that weighed 185, 190 pounds. Now, we’re doing it with a 235-pound back (Hyde) and a 230-pound back (Smith). When they hit it, they break a tackle or two.

“It’s new for Urban because we’ve never had that type of physicality at the position. Now that we have it, it’s fun to watch it develop.”

Meyer’s strategy is not only to have players capable of gaining tough yardage up the middle, but also having speedsters pressuring defenses on the edges.

It’s working so well for OSU that he’s become more run-oriented than at almost any time in his career.

The Buckeyes have 1845 yards rushing and 1,322 passing. In his 10 previous seasons as a head coach, he had only one other team that finished with more yards on the ground than through the air.

The 2008 Gators, who won a national title, ran for 3,469 yards and passed for 2,995. Tim Tebow had a team-high 673 rushing yards and three other players had at least 600.

“This is probably the most imbalanced we’ve been,” Meyer said. “I think we threw for 200 Saturday (against IU), but usually you don’t run for 300-something yards. That’s hard to do.

“You kind of go back to what’s working well for you. Also, in game management, we notice we’re not as fast as we’ve been because we want to eat up as much clock as we can — especially when you’re having issues on the other side of the ball. We play together.

“It’s just been a little bit different the way we manage the game because, at the end of the day, we have to win it. If that means being a little more imbalanced in the run, I’m fine with that.”

The Buckeyes have had to improvise to make their offense work. They’ve utilized receiver Philly Brown on option pitches because he’s better suited at running outside than Hyde and Smith.

“As long as we have a player — not necessarily a running back, not necessarily a receiver — that can provide some dynamics on the perimeter, we’re good to go,” Drayton said. “But we’ve always been an offense that’s going to run ‘A’ gap power with an attitude.”

Hyde has been most effective in blowing through that “A” gap (the space between the center and guards). A vastly improved offensive line has made that possible, but Hyde’s development has been a big factor, too.

Although he’s missed two games this year with a knee injury, he’s rushed for 454 yards and seven TDs. In 13 games last season, he had 566 yards and six scores.

“I think he was under the impression he got a raw deal last year,” Drayton said. “He was somewhat selfish in that respect. Like any athlete, you get this high impression of yourself — and you want that individual to have that confidence in his skill level — but it’s a double-edged sword. And I think he’s falling on the right side of that sword right now.

“He’s as excited about being a lead blocker for Braxton Miller as he is when the ball is in his hands. That is for real. And it’s really fun to be around.”