Latest Vegas Odds Add Even More Ohio State Hype, but Is It Too Much to Handle?

COLUMBUS, Ohio — From the moment the clock struck zeroes inside of Arlington’s AT&T Stadium in January, one word seemed to be on the mind of every Ohio State fan: Repeat. The Buckeyes had captured the first-ever College Football Playoff championship, but even in postgame interviews the attention was already turning toward the next year. After all, Ohio State just beat Oregon—and Alabama in the semifinals Sugar Bowl a week prior—with a team whose core predominately consisted of underclassmen. If the Buckeyes were good enough to win a championship this young, how good would they be the following season, when losses to the roster would be minimal and only improvement from their juniors, sophomores and freshmen would be expected? “I’ve got a bunch of really good players. I love our coaching staff. The word ‘repeat,’ we’ll have that conversation, certainly not today,” Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer said the day after the national title game. “It’s about enjoying it.” Meyer may not have been looking forward at the time, but the rest of the college football world was, with Bovada (via OddsShark) listing the Buckeyes as 6-1 favorites to win the 2016 national title just a day after they put a championship bow on their 2015 campaign. In the four months that have followed, the Ohio State hype train has hardly slowed down, with the oddsmakers’ latest list making the Buckeyes 7-2 favorites to capture a second consecutive college football crown. Brynn Anderson/Associated Press The expectations for Ohio State in 2015 don’t stop there either, with Bovada handicapping running back Ezekiel Elliott’s chances of winning the Heisman Trophy at 6-1—the best odds of any player in the country. “It’s something you dream about as a kid when you’re playing NCAA Football and you create your little player, and he wins the Heisman,” Elliott answered when asked by Bleacher Report about his Heisman chances just moments after the title game. “Just thinking that I’m going to have the opportunity next year to compete for the Heisman, just it means everything.” Elliott isn’t the only Buckeye coming back with Heisman hopes either, as each of Ohio State’s three quarterbacks are currently represented on Bovada’s most recent list. Cardale Jones has the nation’s sixth best odds at 12-1, while Braxton Miller measures in at 25-1 and J.T. Barrett is listed at 28-1. Obviously, those odds will change as the season nears and Meyer settles on a starter at quarterback, but there isn’t another team in the country that possesses three players on Bovada’s Heisman list, let alone four. “I’m not going to change, I’m going to keep grinding,” Elliott insisted, before adding, “I’m going to do all I can to win it.” That might be the right attitude to take into this offseason, a cautious confidence that’s well aware of all the Buckeyes are capable of, and how quickly it can go away. There may not be a better pilot to navigate this situation either than Meyer, who has twice before found himself in the position of defending national champion. And although Florida wasn’t able to repeat in either 2007 or 2009, Meyer learned plenty of lessons while with the Gators that should aid is efforts in 2015. Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports “There’s a lot of uncles, aunts, and so?called uncles and aunts and third-parties trying to get involved, and the negative is a lot of times when you’re that young, that influences you,” Meyer said. “I’m worried about that with our program…

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