College football rankings: Ohio State must buck College Football Playoff trend in pursuit of national title

Ohio State is No. 2 in Dennis Dodd’s post-spring top 25 and widely expected to compete for a national championship during a critical seventh season for coach Ryan Day. The Buckeyes loaded up on transfer talent and made a splashy offensive coordinator hire in Chip Kelly to bolster a program that is 129-16 over the past 12 seasons.

But if the Buckeyes are going to hoist the trophy on Jan. 20, 2025, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, they will be required to break recent continuity norms for title-winning teams.

College football’s last 10 national champions – dating back to the beginning of the College Football Playoff era – have each returned at least three of the following four: coach; offensive coordinator; defensive coordinator; a quarterback who started at least four games in the prior year. 

Even amid a quickly changing roster-building landscape, core continuity has mattered. Each of the 10 also finished 13th or better in the final rankings of the previous season.

While Day and defensive coordinator Jim Knowles are back from a 2023 Ohio State team that finished 11-2 and No. 7 in the final CFP Rankings, the Buckeyes welcomed in a new quarterback and new offensive coordinator, leaving them with just two returners in those core four positions.

The last national champion to return fewer than three was the 2013 Florida State team, which was led by Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Jameis Winston. In the absence of a generational QB talent, the Buckeyes will be required to buck a well-established trend if they are going to return to the top of the sport for the first time since 2014.

That title-winning team featured a first-year starting quarterback (J.T. Barrett) but had familiar faces at head coach (Urban Meyer), offensive…

Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/college-football-rankings-ohio-state-must-buck-college-football-playoff-trend-in-pursuit-of-national-title/

Author : David Cobb

Publish date : 2024-06-12 18:33:30

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