Here's Why Ohio State Won't Repeat

Repeating in college football is hard, but it's not impossible. In fact, from the time the BCS was created in 1998 until 2013, the team that won a national championship has reached the title game eight times the following season. Of course, only two times did that team actually go back-to-back. And while only three schools in the last 35 years have repeated as national champions, it can certainly be done, even with the turnover of college football and players declaring for the draft early. 

This year, Ohio State returns virtually all of its elite talent -- including several bonafide Heisman Trophy candidates  -- and has the benefit of a Big Ten schedule that's softer than usual. The Buckeyes do not play Wisconsin or Nebraska, and they get Michigan State and Penn State at the Horseshoe, one of the country's premier home field advantages. And yet, I still don't think the Buckeyes will repeat. Here's why.

Suspensions/Key Injury 

Joey Bosa is the best defensive player in college football: a bruising, lightning-quick, 6-foot-6, 275-pound defensive end who wreaks havoc on opposing backfields. But due to suspension, he won't in the season opener at Virginia Tech, the only team to beat the Bucks last year. Also not playing will be Jalin Marshall, a jitterbug playmaker who will be expected to take on a vital role in the offense as a sophomore. The suspensions of Bosa and Marshall are not the whole story here, because even an improved Hokie team opened as a considerable underdog, despite the always tricky Blacksburg element. If Ohio State does lose, the playoffs showed us last year that, as with the BCS, it's far better to lose early than late.

Most worrisome than the suspensions themselves, however, are the distractions that come along with them. Head coach Urban Meyer has preached the "next man up" philosophy, and rightfully so, given how well he has recruited. But it's hard enough to repeat, and these are the types of things that destroy a team, even one as supremely talented as this one.

On the injury front, the Buckeyes were dealt a sizable blow with the news that sophomore wideout Noah Brown will miss the season with a torn ACL. At 6-foot-2 and 222 pounds, he had been viewed as a potential breakout candidate and a true deep threat to replace Devin Smith (see below). "Noah Brown is kind of solidified," Meyer said  during spring practice. "Brown has had probably as good of a spring as I could've wanted," receivers coach Zach Smith added. "He's at a different level than he was in the fall."

Closing Time

Ohio State gets what we think should be an improved Michigan team in Jim Harbaugh's first year back home. That game comes on the final weekend of the regular season. Then comes the Big Ten title tilt, followed by a potential playoff against two premier opponents in less than two weeks. Such a gauntlet takes an excruciating toll from both a physical and emotional standpoint, made that much more challenging when you are tasked with being perfect.

New Offense? 

Meyer and Alabama's Nick Saban are the only FBS coaches ever to win national titles at two different schools. But Meyer doesn't call the plays. That responsibility belongs to the new offensive coordinator duo of Ed Warinner and Tim Beck, as Tom Herman has left to lead the University of Houston program. Naturally, they will lean on sensational junior running back Ezekiel Elliott, who burst onto the scene last season when he torched Wisconsin, Alabama and Oregon for 696 yards and eight touchdowns to clinch the title. And, assuming that Barrett does in fact win the starting gig, Warinner has peace of mind: Before his season-ending injury, Barrett amassed nearly 3,000 passing yards and 34 touchdowns, along with almost 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground. 

Even so, a new coordinator is a new coordinator, and a severe adjustment period can be expected. Just use recent history as an example. After Florida State's title in 2013, its defensive coordinator, Jeremy Pruitt, left the program. The Seminoles defense, despite returning most of its elite talent, suffered a downturn and was unable to produce at the same clip. Warinner and Beck have the benefit of Meyer, but will ultimately be in charge of an offense expected to produce monumental numbers.

Don't underestimate the loss of wide receiver Devin Smith to the NFL either. Smith was college football's best and most feared deep threat last year, and the ultimate "get out of jail" card in tough situations because of his ability to stretch the field and catch everything in sight. His replacements are two redshirt freshman receivers whose only major experience is the spring game. Former superstar quarterback Braxton Miller (84 career touchdowns), should make an impact from the H-hack spot, but making a position change this late in a career is never easy either.

Email me at jordan.schultz@huffingtonpost.com  or ask me questions about anything sports-related on Twitter @Schultz_Report , and follow me on Instagram @Schultz_Report.