Ohio State Football: Can the Buckeyes Return to the CFP, Title Game?

We are inside of one week from the return of Ohio State football in its truest form. The Buckeyes are poised for another championship run and should return to the College Football Playoff, but how far will they go and why?

Last year, the Ohio State football team had one of the most memorable seasons that almost wasn’t despite falling short to Alabama in the National Championship Game. Football is just a sport to some, but the circumstances surrounding the 2020 season amplified the game is more than just a four-quarter battle on Saturdays.

Losing in the Title Game to the historically talented Crimson Tide stung, no doubt; but the path the Buckeyes took to get there is why it is still considered a special season.

The expectations in Columbus are so astronomically high that last season will be counted as a let-down to certain people. Just the opposite is true, however, as Ryan Day and the coaching staff empowered their players to stand up and use their voices and platforms as catalysts in the We Want to Play movement. It worked.

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Justin Fields and so many others got their chances to be special and earned an incredible much-desired victory over the Tigers in the process.

This year will be no different for the Scarlet and Gray. The talent and script are all present and ready to be written. In each of the last two seasons, the team with the most talented group of Wide Receivers and perimeter weapons has won the championship. LSU (2019), Alabama (2020), and now Ohio State in 2021.

Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Julien Fleming, and the rest of the absurdly special players on the outside give the Buckeyes as good of a shot as anybody to return to the pinnacle of the sport.

The game of college football goes through phases where position groups or units propel championship runs. The sport has shifted completely to a creative, motion-and-speed-driven offensive style lately which plays directly in the strength of the 2021 Ohio State Buckeyes.

Excellent quarterback play is obviously still needed for execution purposes, but with the talent at CJ Stroud’s disposal, he will just need to be a distributor and let his playmakers do the rest.

Beginning the year on the road at night in a conference game with a QB who has never thrown a collegiate pass is a little concerning. But I get over it quickly because quarterbacks are products of those around them.

The aforementioned wideouts lead the charge, but TE’s Jeremy Ruckert and Cade Stover will be elite in both pass protection and the vertical attack this year. Stroud will have 3-6 solid options no matter what package is on the field.

To add to the talent, the backfield is loaded too. It will most likely start running back by committee with Master Teague, Miyan Williams, and Treveyon Henderson; but Stroud can move as well which is what will make this 2021 Buckeye offense so lethal, layered and complex behind arguably the best offensive line in the program’s recent memory.

We will get good looks at the Ohio State football team beginning next Thursday against Minnesota and nine days later in The Shoe as the Bucks welcome the Oregon Ducks – another CFP contender. I believe Ohio State will eventually be too much offensively in both matchups, but I do expect a competitive first half and likely three quarters respectively.

Next. TreyVeon Henderson emerging as possible starter. dark

I am predicting Ryan Day’s 2021 Buckeyes to return to the College Football Playoff and draw a rematch against Nick Saban and Alabama. Only this time, there won’t be any quarantines or COVID protocols interfering with the National Championship preparations.

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