Ohio State bidding to repeat as national champions

COLUMBUS — Ohio State's 34-23 win over Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff national championship ended at 11:08 p.m. Jan. 20, which meant the question of whether Ohio State could win back-to-back national championships began around 11:09 p.m. And it's not just fans or websites in search of clicks who are talking about it as the Buckeyes get closer to the beginning of the 2025 season. Ohio State's players are up front about their desire to win consecutive titles. "They want to have their own identity but they also want to be the first team ever to win back-to-back national championships at Ohio State," coach Ryan Day said. After a recent practice, junior wide receiver Brandon Inniss said, "We're trying to do things an Ohio State team has never done before. We're trying to go back-to-back. We need to be even more intense than last year's practices." During spring practice, junior cornerback Jermaine Mathews talked about missing out on a chance to win back-to-back state championships at Winton Woods High School in Cincinnati and how much he wants to get another national championship at Ohio State. "I remember how bad we wanted to do it again (in high school) and coming up short. I'm just staying on myself and staying on the guys to do anything we can to go back. It's going to be very hard. We know that," he said. Ohio State will have 14 new starters this season, six on offense and eight on defense. That's where having their own identity comes in. "We're not defending national champions because we're not defending anything. They can't take the trophy away. We're looking to attack and win a championship with this team," Day said. "That started in the offseason. Now we need to look to our first game with Texas." OSU, ranked No. 2 behind No. 1 Texas in the coaches preseason poll, will play Aug. 30 at Ohio Stadium in a rematch of their playoff semifinal last season. Penn State was ranked No.1, followed by Texas and OSU in The Associated Press poll. In the days of a two-team or four-team BCS and College Football Playoff format or before polls determined a national champion, a loss in an opener like this could end a team's championship hopes. Ohio State (14-2) proved last season that a national champion could recover from two losses in a 12-team CFP. Winning a national championship is difficult to do no matter how many teams are around. In the 16 seasons of the BCS (1998-2013) and 11 seasons of the College Football Playoff (2014-2024) only two teams have won back-to-back national championships Alabama did it in 2011-12 and Georgia did it in 2021-22. USC was on a 34-game winning streak in 2005 and looking for back-to-back national championships when it was beaten 41-38 by Texas in the title game. Ohio State's 31-24 double-overtime win over defending champion Miami in 2002 ended a 34-game winning streak by the Hurricanes. Ohio State's 2002 and 2014 national championships were followed by very good seasons, but not good enough to get back to the national championship game. In 2003, the Buckeyes lost 17-10 at Wisconsin in early October then were beaten 35-21 at Michigan. They went into the Michigan game ranked No. 2 in the BCS standings and there was no Big Ten Championship Game until 2011. So a win in Ann Arbor almost certainly would have made them one of two teams in the BCS championship game. In 2015, No. 9 Michigan State upset No.3 Ohio State 17-14 the next-to-last week of the regular season to crush OSU's hopes of winning back-to-back national championships Since 1998, Ohio State has a 3-3 record in national championship games. After beating Miami in 2002, it had back-to-back runner-up seasons, losing 41-14 to Florida in 2006 and 38-24 to LSU in 2007 in BCS championship games. It beat Oregon 42-20 in 2014, lost to Alabama 52-24 in 2020 and beat Notre Dame 34-23 in 2024 in College Football Playoff championship games. Ohio State certainly has a chance to win back-to-back championships. It has a very talented roster. Wide receiver Jeremiah Smith and safety Caleb Downs might be the best players at their position in college football. Carnell Tate, Inniss, Smith and tight end Max Klare could be the best group of receivers in the country. Offensive linemen Carson Hinzman, Luke Montgomery, Tegra Tshabola and Austin Siereveld started games last season and were an important part of OSU's playoff run. Transfer portal additions Ethan Onianwa and Phillip Daniels were starters at offensive tackle at Rice and Minnesota last season. Sonny Styles had 100 tackles and six sacks a year ago in his first season at linebacker and Arvell Reese has "freakish" ability at the other linebacker position, according to linebackers coach James Laurinaitis. Ohio State's defense ranked No. 1 nationally last season when it allowed 12.9 points per game. There will be four defensive line positions to fill. But the position that could make or break the Buckeyes' chances figures to be quarterback. Ohio State got everything it could have hoped for and more last season from Will Howard when he used the portal to transfer from Kansas State. Howard passed for 4,010 yards and 35 touchdowns, rushed for seven touchdowns and aced the delicate task of becoming a team leader in one season. Julian Sayin was the top-ranked quarterback in the country in 2024, when he signed with Alabama then transferred to OSU after Nick Saban announced his retirement. But there are hardly any numbers on him at the college level to evaluate. He completed 5 of 12 passes last season for 84 yards and one touchdown.