As an Ohio State fan and avid reader of Eleven Warriors, you’re probably not going to like this story.
Still reading? Perfect. I haven’t completely turned you off just yet after that first sentence.
Let me start by saying Ohio State is extremely talented in 2015 and it's the main reason why it is the heavy favorite to repeat as national champion. And on Wednesday, we examined three reasons why the Buckeyes would do just that. As the prohibitive preseason favorites to win the national championship, there might be more reasons why Ohio State will win it all than why it won’t.
Yet, believe it or not, there is still a possibility the Buckeyes don’t win the national championship in 2015. It’s not a knock on Ohio State, just a possibility based on a number of different factors.
Because of that chance, here are three reasons why the Buckeyes may not be able to repeat as national champions in 2015.
REPEATING IS NOT EASY
Nobody has ever tried to repeat in the College Football Playoff era, but in theory it doesn’t seem like an easy thing to do. It’s not like the days of the BCS where a team had to win just one game to be crowned national champion. Now, a team must win a pair.
A repeat happened as recently as 2012 when Alabama won back-to-back titles, but prior to that you have to go back to 2004 when USC was able to do it. Even then, the Trojans were co-champions in 2003.
Urban Meyer has never repeated as a head coach. He won two titles at Florida, but failed to deliver back-to-back titles to the Gators. Why? Because it’s really, really hard to be perfect for two consecutive seasons no matter how good a team may be. One slip up and it can all be over.
There are 1,000 things that can go wrong over the course of any season and many of them are out of the control of a team. That’s the just the way things go sometimes and it makes winning a national championship that much more difficult.
COMPLACENCY
It’s been Meyer’s biggest fear since the Buckeyes claimed the national title last season. How would his team handle being at the top of the mountain? How would they respond to the success?
They’re legitimate questions, too. Teams can often get lost in the hype surrounding them and get comfortable where they’re at. That may very well cause a slip up and in the world of college football, and one slip up could be all you need to see your dreams dashed.
INJURIES
You never want to see a player get hurt, for any team, but sadly injuries are part of the game. Football is one of the most violent sports out there and injuries can happen to anyone, which make them such a wildcard not just for Ohio State, but for all teams.
The Buckeyes battled through their fair share of injuries last season during their national championship run, so they’ve proven they can fight through them and still be successful.
But injuries to key players have a chance to derail any team — not just Ohio State — and they could be a big factor in several team's chances at winning the grand prize this season.
