Buckeyes built for title talk

COLUMBUS, Ohio — After an amazing run to the first College Football Playoff national championship, Ohio State enters the 2015 season as the No. 1 team in the early rankings and the odds-on favorite to repeat its impressive feats from last year. As good as the Buckeyes were in 2014, they could be even better this fall. With so much talent returning in Columbus, optimism is bursting through the high ceiling for coach Urban Meyer’s program. The hype surrounding the Buckeyes is certainly justified. With a team this gifted, where do you start to name its strengths? Well, there’s Heisman Trophy candidate Ezekiel Elliott, who went on a tear in the postseason and ran wild for 696 yards and eight touchdowns in the Big Ten championship and the two CFP games. There’s the ridiculous abundance of talent at quarterback with J.T. Barrett, who set Big Ten records in his first season as a starter last year before suffering an ankle injury against Michigan in late November, and Cardale Jones, the howitzer-armed gunslinger who replaced Barrett and led the Buckeyes to the national title. That’s not to mention the return of Braxton Miller, a two-time All-Big Ten quarterback and player of the year who is coming off shoulder surgery and decided this summer to move to wide receiver to allow more time for healing. …

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