The Ohio State Buckeyes were the runaway favorite to win a second consecutive College Football Playoff National Championship last year, but they stumbled down the stretch against the Michigan State Spartans and fell short of repeating.
After losing 16 starters and a handful of superstars, the Buckeyes’ road back to the playoff will be much more difficult in 2016.
It won’t be an impossible road to navigate. Back in 2014, the Buckeyes entered the season with a significant rebuilding job after losing 2013 mainstays Carlos Hyde, Ryan Shazier, Bradley Roby and quarterback Braxton Miller, who was lost for the year after reinjuring his shoulder.
That team built chemistry and momentum—which paved the way for Ohio State’s first national title since 2002.
Can head coach Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes re-create that history this fall?
The Case for Ohio State
Ohio State has a few things going for it in 2016 that it didn’t have in 2015, and the biggest factor is certainty at the quarterback position.
Last year, the Buckeyes were supposed to be strong at quarterback with Cardale Jones and J.T. Barrett behind center, but the position battle and constant wavering between the two served as a hindrance to the offense. Ohio State faltered between a pro-style look suited to Jones and a zone-read attack that favored Barrett’s ability, and the identity of the unit wasn’t shaped until it was too late.
With Barrett as the clear-cut leader of not only the offense, but…
Continue Reading: The Case for and Against Ohio State to Make a National Title Run in 2016
