The Ohio State Buckeyes have an overwhelming talent advantage over everyone in the College Football Playoff. You really see how that bears out when you break down the 12-team field by who has the most star players.
Sports Illustrated's Zach Koons believes Indiana Hoosiers quarterback and 2025 Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza is the top player in the field, but he put receiver Jeremiah Smith at No. 2, safety Caleb Downs at No. 4, quarterback Julian Sayin at No. 5, linebacker/EDGE Arvell Reese at No. 8, and defensive end/EDGE Caden Curry at No. 12.
Koons called Smith "the most electrifying player in the field this season," Downs "one of the premier players in college football," Sayin "excellent," Reese a star "in multiple facets in the middle of the Buckeyes’ defense," and Curry "the Buckeyes’ shining example" of "the job Matt Patricia has done."
Ohio State's talent sets Ryan Day up for pressure cooker if Buckeyes lose
Recruiting has become an overrated skill in College Football if there's no follow-up on the field. You can bring in elite talent like the Auburn Tigers' Hugh Freeze, the Florida Gators' Billy Napier, and the Penn State Nittany Lions' James Franklin, but if you don't develop that talent, you become an even bigger villain than had you possessed less talent to begin with. And then you're shown the door.
Ryan Day didn't even get full credit for winning last year's CFP title game. He had to beat TTUN this past November to get a full endorsement. Now, it can all be undone if he doesn't handle the Brian Hartline situation at play-caller.
Forget about how many blue-chip prospects he recruited. What has your team done on the field, Mr. Day?
The seeds of doubt were planted in their 13-10 loss to Indiana in the Big Ten Championship Game. Ohio State can very quickly be the biggest story in the sport by doing anything short of winning the championship.
Falling shy of the whole kit and caboodle is no longer good enough in Columbus, especially if a fixable problem, like who's managing the offensive chess pieces under an offensive-minded head coach, becomes the Buckeyes' undoing.