It seems almost a given that Ohio State will begin the 2015 season ranked as the No. 1 team in the country. Ending the year in that same spot isn’t so certain, not in this new playoff era that we’ve leaped into in college football.
As good as the Buckeyes are projected to be as defending national champions, the odds are not in their favor to repeat. This isn’t a prediction based on ability as much as it is circumstances, that all-encompassing word that seems like it shouldn’t matter but far too often does when dealing with 18 to 22-year-old athletes competing in an increasingly professional-level sport.
Even before OSU completed their amazing run to the title earlier this month, I tabbed the Buckeyes as the most likely of the first College Football Playoff semifinalists to make a return trip to the playoffs. Nothing about that prediction has changed in the past two weeks, though now that they are champions the more pressing question is whether they can do it again.
“I’ve got a bunch of really good players, and I love our coaching staff,” Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer said the day after beating Oregon 42-20 for the title, via the Times-Picayune. “The word repeat, we’ll have that conversation, certainly not today.”
Meyer may want to hold off on talking about the “R” word yet, but the question is still out there, and here’s our answer: Nope.
Too much has to go perfectly for that to happen, and not enough of it is completely in the control of Meyer, his staff and his…
Continue Reading: Why Ohio State Won’t Repeat as Playoff Champs Next Season
