In case you missed it, The Ohio State Buckeyes captured their ninth outright college football national championship on Jan. 20 in Atlanta, Georgia. At the same time, there were critics over the Buckeyes $20 million roster and use of NIL funds. The Buckeyes captured the Big Ten Conference’s second straight national championship and used the same formula their arch-rival, the Michigan Wolverines, used to win the 2023 national championship.
This is the first time the Big Ten has won consecutive national championships since 1942, leaving fans wondering what formula silenced the South in successive years.
Returning Starters
Jim Harbaugh’s 2023 squad consisted of 44 fourth- and fifth-year players. Of the 44 players, many notable would-be prospects in the 2023 NFL Draft decided to return to Michigan with the goal in mind to win a national championship. Some key starters who returned for the Wolverines instead of going to the NFL were Blake Corum, Zak Zinter, Kris Jenkins Jr. and Mike Sainristil.
The Wolverines also had a two-year starter under center, with J.J. McCarthy proving to be consistent in the Wolverine's final four games against Ohio State, Iowa, Alabama and Washington.
The Buckeyes persuaded TreVeyon Henderson, Emeka Egbuka, Jack Sawyer, Denzel Burke, Tyleik Williams, Ty Hamilton, Donovan Jackson, JT Tuimoloau, Lathan Ransom, Cody Simon, Josh Fryar and Jordan Hancock to all stay in Columbus for their senior seasons. Similar to the 2023 Michigan squad, the Buckeyes had 40 fourth- and fifth-year players on their roster.
The message for both Big Ten powerhouses has been keeping the talent in the program instead of relying solely on the transfer portal to fill in glaring holes on the roster. Both rosters were carefully crafted and engineered to win a national championship.
Portal Prospects
Success for both teams showed up in significant ways throughout the transfer portal. The Buckeyes were able to snag major commitments from quarterback Will Howard from Kansas State, Caleb Downs and Seth McLaughlin from Alabama, Will Kacmarek from Ohio and Quinshon Judkins from Ole Miss. Aside from McLaughlin’s untimely injury in late November, the tandem of Buckeye transfers was incredible in the College Football Playoff for the Buckeyes.
Howard ended as the National Championship Offensive MVP, Downs finished the season as a consensus All-American, Judkins scored three touchdowns in the National Championship and McLaughlin won the Rimington Award as the nation's best center.
As for the Wolverines, they were able to bring in LaDarius Henderson from Arizona State, Josaiah Stewart from Coastal Carolina, AJ Barner from Indiana, Myles Hinton from Stanford and Ernest Hausmann from Nebraska. Michigan transfers were integral in the success of the team as they finished undefeated and became the first team since the 2001 Miami Hurricanes to control the lead at halftime in every game played.
Creating a Culture
Adversity cannot be naturally produced. For both of these teams, adversity struck before big games in high-pressure situations.
For the Wolverines, it started in August when the university announced that they would be self-imposing a three-game ban on Harbaugh for previous recruiting violations. This caused an uproar in the Wolverine fanbase as they felt as if Harbaugh was suspended without any wrongdoing. The adversity continued throughout the season as Harbaugh was suspended for three more games on the tarmac in Happy Valley, Pennsylvania, the day before the Wolverines took on the No. 10 Penn State Nittany Lions. Harbaugh was suspended for his role in the sign-stealing scandal in which former staffer Connor Stalions, who is accused of breaking NCAA Bylaw 11.6.1, which states, "Off-campus, in-person scouting of future opponents (in the same season) is prohibited.”
While the suspension came at an inopportune time for the Wolverines, it actually brought the locker room together and allowed the Wolverines to continue to dominate with their new mantra, “Michigan Vs. Everybody”.
For the Buckeyes, the adversity came on the field as the preseason national title favorites dropped two games in the regular season, one on the road at Oregon in which Howard slid into Oregon territory as the clock expired, giving the Buckeyes a one-point loss. The other came in home territory at the Horseshoe against arch-rival Michigan. The Buckeyes entered “The Game” as 21-point favorites, the largest point spread margin in modern history.
The storyline coming into the game was the Buckeyes' returning starters, who decided to come back for three goals: 1. Beat Michigan, 2. Win the Big Ten Championship, 3. Win the College Football Playoff National Championship. The Buckeyes, in the four years with their senior class, had lost seven games, three of them at the hands of the Wolverines the mission was to beat Michigan and complete the goals. However, the Buckeyes lost to the Wolverines 13-10, which rendered them ineligible for the Big Ten Championship and a rematch against Oregon.
After the fourth straight loss to Michigan, nobody received more heat and pressure from the fanbase than head coach Ryan Day. The only promising chance for the Buckeyes was the 12-team College Football Playoff, which saw the Buckeyes facing an insanely difficult path to the national championship with matchups against Tennessee, Oregon, Texas and Notre Dame.
Ohio State played on another level after adversity struck their locker room on Nov. 30, and they attributed it to the “Ohio Against The World” mantra. Day’s words put it best.
“This is a tough team right here,” Day said. “We're proud to be from Ohio, and it has always been Ohio against the world.”
Both Harbaugh and Day attributed their success to the team's brotherhood and camaraderie, and all teams have different paths. Adversity can’t be predicted, and most teams in sports history succumb to it. However, winning a national championship takes a certain level of grit that has been present in Columbus, Ohio, and Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Who Can Replicate It?
Only one team following this recipe can contend for this upcoming year's national championship. The Penn State Nittany Lions are primed for the spotlight.
James Franklin watched as both Ohio State and Michigan won national championships and decided to use the same recipe. Franklin has now received commitments to return from Drew Allar, Nick Singleton, Kaytron Allen, Dani Dennis-Sutton, Nick Dawkins, Dominic DeLuca, JB Nelson and Zakee Wheatley. They all turned down offers to leave to go to the NFL draft or transfer portal.
Furthermore, Franklin signed many stars in the transfer portal, such as Enai White from Texas A&M, Kyron Hudson from USC, Owen Wafle from Michigan and King Mack from Alabama. Franklin also had to make a coaching change after defensive coordinator Tom Allen left to take the same position at Clemson. He filled that role with the gold standard in the sport and poached Jim Knowles from Ohio State. This aggressive but savvy move by Franklin is similar to the move by Day to hire Chip Kelly as their offensive coordinator.
While the Nittany Lions still have loads of concern surrounding their passing attack, I'm sure Franklin and Andy Kotelnicki have thought about the upcoming season and how they can utilize the spring transfer portal period to improve their offense. As for the offseason, so far, Franklin is heading down the path that his rivals have for the past two seasons. Time will tell how effective this recipe for success is for the Nittany Lions.
