Stars matter. Or maybe they don't.
It's a matter of perspective for some. For others, it's the most objective lens through which to view an actual on-field matchup.
When Ohio State and Alabama square up and get after it on Monday night, they will do so with the No. 3- and No. 2-best rosters talent-wise in the nation according to the 247Sports Team Talent Composite. On that list, Alabama (with 85 players) holds a slight lead in both major categories over Ohio State (with 85 players):
Total Points Average
- Alabama: 985.86
- Ohio State: 976.48
Average Player Rating
- Alabama: 93.25
- Ohio State: 92.89
That's where the Buckeyes and Crimson Tide match up across the board in totality. But we dove into the numbers to give a side-by-side comparison of where the two rosters – at least the projected starters – stand when looking at matchups on either side of the ball:
- Ohio State offense vs. Alabama defense
- Alabama offense vs. Ohio State defense
Ohio State Offense Vs. Alabama Defense
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| POSITION | PLAYER | COMP. RATING | OVERALL RATING | POSITION | PLAYER | COMP. RATING | OVERALL RATING |
| DE | LaBRYAN RAY | .9867 | 28 (2 DE) | LT | THAYER MUNFORD | .8985 | 285 (28 OT) |
| DT | DJ DALE | .9076 | 254 (18 DT) | LG | MATTHEW JONES | .9652 | 68 (1 OC) |
| DE | CHRISTIAN BARMORE | .9298 | 176 (16 DT) | C | JOSH MYERS | .9757 | 53 (2 OG) |
| JACK | WILL ANDERSON JR. | .9913 | 17 (1 WDE) | RG | WYATT DAVIS | .9876 | 24 (1 OG) |
| SLB | CHRISTOPHER ALLEN | .9520 | 104 (4 ILB) | RT | NICHOLAS PETIT-FRERE | .9963 | 7 (1 OT) |
| MLB | DYLAN MOSES | .9922 | 13 (2 OLB) | RB | TREY SERMON | .9232 | 191 (12 RB) |
| WLB | CHRISTIAN HARRIS | .9506 | 110 (6 ILB) | TE | LUKE FARRELL* | .9233 | 191 (7 TE) |
| CB | JOSH JOBE | .9509 | 109 (14 CB) | WR | GARRETT WILSON | .9922 | 20 (2 WR) |
| SS | JORDAN BATTLE | .9780 | 43 (2 S) | QB | JUSTIN FIELDS | .9998 | 2 (1 DUAL) |
| FS | DANIEL WRIGHT | .9436 | 122 (16 S) | WR | CHRIS OLAVE | .8875 | 399 (68 WR) |
| CB | PATRICK SURTAIN II | .9973 | 6 (1 CB) | WR | JAMESON WILLIAMS | .9404 | 82 (13 WR) |
| AVERAGE | .9618 | 89 (7 POS) | AVERAGE | .9536 | 120 (12 POS) |
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| POSITION | NO. OF PLAYERS | AVG RATING | POSITION | NO. OF PLAYERS | NO. OF PLAYERS | |
| OT | 9* | .9563 | OT | 8 | .9307 | |
| OG/OC | 7 | .9110 | OG/OC | 5 | .9499 | |
| TE | 6* | .8834 | TE | 3 | .9121 | |
| RB | 9 | .9374 | RB | 6 | .9323 | |
| WR | 11* | .9389 | WR | 12 | .9458 | |
| ATH | 3 | .9467 | ATH | 5 | .9137 | |
| QB | 6* | .8991 | QB | 5 | .9485 | |
| TOTAL | 51 | .9266 | TOTAL | 44 | .9360 |
*Includes one player who transferred to Alabama at this position.
Five Things: Ohio State's Offense vs. Alabama's Defense
- Overall, Ohio State's offense is 94 points better than Alabama's defense. In the Sugar Bowl, the Buckeyes held a 321-point advantage over Clemson. That translated to 49 points, a program bowl record.
- Alabama's secondary has an average player rating of 96.75, which is a couple points better than the Buckeyes' QB/WRs who have a 95.50 average rating. This is the first time this season Fields and Co. have faced a defense with this level of recruiting talent.
- In the trenches, Ohio State's offensive linemen come in with a 96.47 average. That is 108 points better than Alabama's defensive line average of 95.39. For comparison's sake, Clemson's defensive linemen went in with a 98.22 average.
- Alabama's Patrick Surtain II (.9973), is the highest rated starting defensive player on either team.
- Justin Fields (.9998) is the highest rated starting player for either team.
Recruiting Battles
Patrick Surtain II
Kerry Coombs' visit to Florida's American Heritage High School in May of 2017 helped buoy Surtain's visit to Ohio State for the spring game just a month prior. And that looked like it was giving the Buckeyes a momentum shift for the former five-star cornerback, one who finished the 2018 cycle ranked as the No. 1 cornerback and No. 6 overall player in America.
Ohio State and Alabama found themselves on Surtain's top-six list, in addition to Clemson, Florida, Florida State and LSU.
Coombs and Co. made a hard push for Surtain, who would have been the highest-ranked cornerback the Buckeyes had ever signed in program history ahead of Jeff Okudah (No. 8 overall, No. 1 CB) in the 2017 cycle. But Ohio State got beat out by the Tide, which left the Buckeyes' defensive staff obviously disappointed – something offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson discussed during media availability this week.
“I mean, he's a tremendous player. A guy we recruited hard,” Wilson said of Surtain. “I know Coach Coombs was disappointed when we didn't get half and those guys were dealing trying to get him in here. I think it was just Coach Coombs back then. But he's a tremendous player. He's athletic. He's long. He's going to do a great job.”
Jordan Battle
The Buckeyes and Tide battled (see what we did there?) for Jordan in the last few months of 2018, each hoping to sign the nation's No. 2-ranked safety.
Battle had been committed to Ohio State since June of 2018, but shortly after Urban Meyer announced his retirement, the No. 43 overall player of the 2019 class opted to sign with Alabama during the early signing period. This week, Battle opened up about the decision to choose the Tide over the Buckeyes and the fact that both programs were meeting up in the national championship game.
“You know what's funny? My mom, dad and my brother, we were all talking about it in a group chat this past week,” Battle said. “It's kind of funny that either school I would have went to, I would have been in the national championship. I give all praise to Ohio State. Great coaching staff, great players. I just had to make the best decision for me towards the end to come to Alabama. I give all the praise and all the excitement and joy in Ohio State as well.
“Like I said before, it was a personal thing. I had to make the best decision for me. Obviously you see I did make the best decision for me, and that's all it came down to. I don't remember the process and all that. There's too much in college for me to remember that.”
Summary
With how much the Buckeyes' secondary has struggled with an up and down season, having Battle and Surtain on their side would certainly have been a massive advantage heading into Monday night – especially with Ohio State being able to hold up in pass coverage against Alabama's lethal offense being such a key question.
Overall, though, the Tide's defense has an advantage over the Buckeyes' offense in the recruiting rankings both in average rating and average rankings, but the margin isn't nearly as wide as it was between Ohio State (No. 120 overall, No. 12 position) and Clemson (No. 260 overall, No. 20 position).
Ohio State's Defense Vs. Alabama's Offense
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| POSITION | PLAYER | COMP. RATING | OVERALL RANKING | POSITION | PLAYER | COMP. RATING | OVERALL RANKING |
| LT | ALEX LEATHERWOOD | .9981 | 4 (1 OT) | DE | JONATHON COOPER | .9811 | 33 (3 WDE) |
| LG | DEONTE BROWN* | .9258 | 177 (9 OG) | DT | HASKELL GARRETT | .9678 | 68 (6 DT) |
| C | CHRIS OWENS* | .9241 | 187 (10 OG) | DT | TOMMY TOGIAI | .9721 | 55 (3 DT) |
| RG | EMIL EKIYOR JR. | .9496 | 113 (3 C) | DE | TYREKE SMITH | .9816 | 34 (4 WDE) |
| RT | EVAN NEAL | .9946 | 7 (1 OT) | SLB/DB/DE | BARON BROWNING | .9940 | 11 (1 OLB) |
| RB | NAJEE HARRIS | .9984 | 2 (1 RB) | MLB | TUF BORLAND | .8933* | 324 (22 OLB) |
| TE | MILLER FORRISTALL | .8822 | 382 (16 TE) | WLB/CB | PETE WERNER | .8994 | 277 (14 ILB) |
| WR | DeVONTA SMITH | .9717 | 62 (9 WR) | CB/S | SHAUN WADE | .9904 | 17 (2 CB) |
| QB | MAC JONES | .8815 | 399 (18 PRO) | S | JOSH PROCTOR | .9640 | 71 (7 S) |
| WR | JOHN METCHIE III | .9043 | 275 (40 WR) | S/CB | MARCUS WILLIAMSON | .9250 | 182 (24 CB) |
| WR | SLADE BOLDEN | .8796 | 495 (14 APB) | CB/LB | SEVYN BANKS | .9166 | 221 (23 CB) |
| AVERAGE | .9377 | 191 (11 POS) | AVERAGE | .9532 | 118 (10 POS) |
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| POSITION | NO. OF PLAYERS | AVG RATING | POSITION | NO. OF PLAYERS | AVG RATING | |
| SDE | 6 | .9671 | SDE | 3 | .9188 | |
| WDE | 8 | .9642 | WDE | 3 | .9495 | |
| DT | 9 | .9298 | DT | 9* | .9384 | |
| OLB | 4 | .9696 | OLB | 8 | .9354 | |
| ILB | 7 | .9388 | ILB | 3 | .9302 | |
| CB | 11 | .9301 | CB | 7 | .9386 | |
| S | 6 | .9574 | S | 7 | .9385 | |
| TOTAL | 51 | .9473 | TOTAL | 40 | .9366 |
*Antwuan Jackson Jr. was in the 2018 class as a transfer.
Five Things Alabama's Offense Vs. Ohio State's Defense
- Overall, Alabama's offense is Ohio State's defense is 82 points better than Ohio State's defense.
- The Buckeyes' secondary (94.90) has a substantial advantage over the Crimson Tide's passing game (QB, WRs) at an average rating of 90.93 points despite Alabama having the Heisman Trophy winner in DeVonta Smith.
- In the trenches, Ohio State's defensive linemen come in with a 97.57 average compared to Alabama's offensive line average of 95.84.
- RB Najee Harris (.9984) is the Crimson Tide's highest rated starting player on offense.
- Baron Browning (.9940) is the highest rated starting defensive player for the Buckeyes.
Recruiting Battles
Najee Harris
The whacky final week of Harris' recruitment was covered this week by 247Sports, as it seemed like the nation's No. 2 overall player and No. 1 running back in the 2017 class was headed to either Alabama or Michigan.
Before that, though, Ohio State had been making an impression on Harris following an unofficial visit in April 2016 for the spring game. Tony Alford had done a good job of building a relationship with the five-star back, but he ultimately chose Alabama before a wild final week in his recruitment led to him sticking with the Tide.
Summary
Most believed that Ohio State's game against Clemson was going to come down to the battle in the trenches, and that proved mostly true. (And because Justin Fields is an alien.)
Heading into that game, the Buckeyes had a massive advantage in the average player ratings (97.57) on their defensive line over the Tigers’ offensive line (90.35). When looking at ratings and rankings for this matchup, though, the margins are much, much tighter. That should be a fun battle throughout the night which should be a key factor in determining the national champion.
