Three Ohio State football teams that lived up to the preseason hype

The Ohio State football team is one of the most hyped teams heading into the 2024 season and for good reason. Their defense is perhaps the best in the country. The offense has playmakers all over the field too. Simply put, they have one of the best rosters in the country.

The coaching staff is finally put together in a way that people like as well. Chip Kelly is now in control of the offense as Ryan Day takes a step back, things are set up well for this team. There's a very good chance they end up being a top-three team in the country when the polls come out.

This isn't the first time that an Ohio State football team has had a bunch of hype heading into the season. Most times, it's just the standard. It's really hard to live up to such great hype year after year. Still, it has happened a fair amount in recent history.

There are three teams in the last 15 years that have lived up to a huge amount of preseason hype. All of these teams had a lot of attention surrounding them before the year started and they were able to deliver with a really good season. We will list the teams that least lived up to it and the ones that lived up to it the most.

The first team on this list happened to be Urban Meyer's second team that he had.

3. 2013 Ohio State football team

The 2012 team went undefeated and wasn't able to play in a bowl game. Gene Smith made the biggest mistake of his AD career and didn't accept a bowl ban in 2011 for Tattoogate. Instead, the 2011 team went 6-7 after playing a meaningless bowl game against Florida.

Instead, the NCAA imposed a bowl ban on the Buckeyes for 2012 and Urban Meyer's first team. They went undefeated and should have played for a national championship against Notre Dame. Instead, their season ended after beating Michigan in the Shoe.

The 2013 team came in with a massive amount of hype following that undefeated season. Braxton Miller had shown just how electric of a player he could be when he has a decent offense around him. The defense was the issue all season though, specifically the pass defense.

Ohio State had big expectations heading into the season. They lived up to it. Meyer led his team to another 12-0 regular season, meaning he had won 24 straight games to start his Ohio State football coaching career. Unfortunately, it didn't end in a national title.

A bad call on a fourth down kept the Buckeyes from beating Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship game and playing in the final BCS National Championship. They finished 12-1, which was still well within reason of living up to the preseason hype.

The next team on this list actually played for a national championship.