SKULL SESSION: OHIO STATE IS A TIER-1 TITLE CONTENDER, THE BUCKEYES COULD LAND HALF THE TOP-10 PROSPECTS, AND WE REMEMBER OHIO STATE'S DOMINANCE OVER ALABAMA LAST TIME
TIER 1. In a given year, there are really only like five or 10 teams you can reasonably expect to win a national title.
A lot of folks across the country don't like to admit that, admirably believing that every team's got a shot, but it's really easy to come to terms with reality your team is one of the contenders every single year.
And this year's no different.
... when you’re talking about the biggest prize of them all, a national title, only a handful of teams realistically fit into that conversation.
Even among those contenders there is a stark departure from likely College Football Playoff teams and those fringe programs hoping to crash the conversation.
Today, we’re going to sort the 2020 national title contenders by tiers. All 15 teams included in 2020 Blue-Chip Ratio made the cutoff as did several potential spoilers. Remember, every champion in the internet era hit that blue-chip ratio threshold – a roster made up of at least 50 percent four and five-star recruits – so those 15 programs are the most likely teams to emerge as a champion.
Tier 1
Members: Alabama, Clemson,
Ohio State
This tier accounts for five of the six national titles of the CFB Playoff era. These teams are talented, deep and consistent. Alabama and Clemson have reached the playoff in five of the last six seasons. Ohio State has cleared the 11-win barrier for eight straight seasons and it has finished in the top seven of the CFB Playoff voting each year of the format’s existence. These are college football’s constants, and nothing changes in that regard entering 2020.
Clemson (Trevor Lawrence) and Ohio State (Justin Fields) claim the best two quarterbacks in the sport. Both of those QBs are surrounded by deep and talented rosters with future first-round picks scattered across the board. Clemson’s schedule, even with a November trip to South Bend, is more favorable than any other contender. Ohio State does have difficult road games with Oregon and Penn State. But given that many stadiums must limit capacity due to COVID-19 concerns, those previously intimidating road games look far less daunting. Besides, Ohio State avoids the Big Ten West’s best teams in cross-division play.
I know there are plenty of people who like to downplay recruiting's role in winning a title (which frankly makes my brain want to explode) but this is what happens when your team is built on back-to-back classes that were the two best in program history at the time, especially when you later add the highest-rated quarterback prospect in program history to one of those classes.
Imagine that, the team that consistently pulls in the best players in the country is a perennial national title contender.
Entire article:
https://www.elevenwarriors.com/skul...s-could-land-half-the-top-10-prospects-and-we