The End? No, it’s just the beginning for the Buckeyes
You would think it is a happily-ever-after ending, after the Ohio State Buckeyes just claimed their eighth National Championship, right? Wrong. While it is something to be happy about, this year’s National Championship is not an ending, it’s only the beginning.
Led by an uncanny 11 freshman and sophomore starters, the Ohio State Buckeyes were very unlikely to win the BIG TEN, let alone the National Championship, after Braxton Miller went down with a shoulder injury. Yes, they struggled mightily, early in the season, as it was evident with the Virginia Tech loss. But as every great team does, they improved by buying into Urban Meyer’s great system as the games went on.
So the question now is , with all the young players on their team, where do the Buckeyes go from here? Only up my friends. In addition to those 11 starters that will for sure return, Ohio State will get back a few juniors, as well as the guy who has been behind this great season the entire time, JT Barrett. Plus they have the 5th ranked recruiting class, which features 3 five-star prospects. Life is good, right?
Life is good, but the Buckeyes need to stay hungry. They cannot just look at their success this year and think that they are going to blow away all the competition. Alabama will field a solid team as usual, TCU will be looking to make a run for the playoffs, as well as Michigan State looking to avenge their loss against OSU on their own field.
The truth of the matter is that Ohio State out does them all. Ezekiel Elliott rushed for 1,878 yards this season, second most in Ohio State history to Eddie George. With at least two of his offensive line returning next year, and having a 225 pound steam roller in the backfield, you have to think that the running game is going to be deadly again.
You can also expect the passing game to be good as well, with Jalin Marshall having at least two more years, and the deep quarterback arsenal. J.T. Barrett, being an all Big Ten quarterback, with 2834 passing yards and 938 rushing yards, will be back to compete with National Championship winning quarterback Cardale Jones, and possibly two time Big Ten player of the year, Braxton Miller. Yeah, that’s going to be a heck of a battle.
Add in another year of Joey Bosa, another two years of Eli Apple, and a really good defense, and you’ve got your self one heck of a ball team. So get ready Buckeye fans, the SEC has been brought to the north. This year’s championship success is not the the ending for Ohio State, its the beginning for great Buckeye teams for years to come.
