Ohio State's fatal flaw all but confirmed by preseason All-Big Ten teams

Interesting article.

“Fatal flaw” to me indicates some kind of obscure detail that might not be obvious, such as, the new QB is left handed and the entire team is oriented to having a right handed QB. Being all new or untested up front on both sides of the ball should be a giant red flashing siren.

tOSU won’t “lose in the semis” because of the lines not being up to snuff IMO. If the lines aren’t up to a very high standard and they fail to reload, they’re probably going 9-3 and may not make the playoff at all. (Yeah right, lol)

Edited Thursday at 03:27 PM2 days by JabbaNoBargain

Fatal Flaw? That Team Up North? Ryan, 1-4, has had long Days against Michigan.

TOSU may have a fatal (hide the women and children ) flaw, but it also has another Natty Trophy in the trophy case. Ohio State may not have won back-to-back titles, but the Buckeyes have won nine CFB championships since the beginning of the polling/playoffs era.

As Buhler (Buhler!) notes, he believes Ohio State will return to the playoffs. I agree. And I see Ohio State with a first-round bye or a home game.

Three Buckeyes opponents in the regular season, like Ohio State, have Blue Chip Rosters. Texas and Penn State play the Buckeyes in Ohio Stadium. Ohio State closes the season in Ann Arbor. Games at UW and back-to-back road games at Illinois and Wisconsin could be tough.

Which of OBD, Texas, Georgia, and other title contenders best fill the voids in rosters with few returning starters?

Vegas Insiders shows the odds to win the 2025-26 Natty from six gaming sites. Across the six sites, the skinniest odds to win the title are Ohio State +400, Texas +440, Penn State +480, Georgia +650, and OBD +800. The lower the return, the greater a bookmaker's belief that a team will win it all. These five teams are generally the top five favorites in this order, across the six sites.

Of the five favorites, only Penn State, with 14 starters back in 2025, returns more than 11 starters (players who started six or more games in 2024), including its starting QB. FWIW, no team in the last eight seasons that returned fewer than 11 starters has won a championship.

Thanks for the post!

I don't know about a "fatal flaw". But they're dealing with roster turnover and new coordinators on both sides of the ball. The former is enough to prevent a championship repeat...replacing both your OC and DC is going to be disruptive no matter what (especially in the first half of the season).

4 minutes ago, kirklandduck said:

I don't know about a "fatal flaw". But they're dealing with roster turnover and new coordinators on both sides of the ball. The former is enough to prevent a championship repeat...replacing both your OC and DC is going to be disruptive no matter what (especially in the first half of the season).

In the last 10 seasons, no team that did not return at least three of its Head Coach, OC, defensive coordinator, and strength and conditioning coach, won a championship.

I think the move to long-time WRs coach Hartline as OC will be painless. WRs Smith, Tate, and Inniss are as good a group as any in CFB. New TE Max Klare from Purdue is a weapon on O.

It's not like Chip's group performed well in every game in 2025-26. Chip's O was missing in action in 2024 against Nebraska, Penn State, and Michigan. Chip's O with 9 penalties for 75 yards allowed Texas to keep the Cotton Bowl outcome in doubt.

The DC hire? Was Patricia a good choice? There was friction on D last season between Knowles and long-term DL coach Larry Johnson, who was opposed to TOSU playing fewer than four D linemen.

Ohio State +400, Texas +440, Penn State +480, Georgia +650, and OBD +800.

Clemson will be in the top 5 by the season’s end.

Is Ohio State OBD's Kryptonite?

ESPN.com

The anticipated archvillains for every top 25 college foo...

These are the players, coaches, teams and concepts that every squad in our Way-Too-Early Top 25 will be looking out for in 2025.

41 minutes ago, Notalot said:

Ohio State +400, Texas +440, Penn State +480, Georgia +650, and OBD +800.

Clemson will be in the top 5 by the season’s end.

The Tigers could be there, Not a Lot of doubt. 😁

But the opener versus LSU and the closer versus South Carolina in Columbia will not be easy wins. Georgia Tech and Louisville are tough road games.

Last season, the 2025 highly touted Clemson D was lit up by Louisville, SMU, and Texas. This season, SMU trips to Clemson.

40 years and counting since a team ranked lower than 13th in the final poll of the season, Oklahoma, won a title the following season. The final Committee Poll ranked Clemson 16th after the 2024-25 regular season.

Flaws for the preseason top 2025 that could be fatal.

ESPN.com

Areas of concern: What could trip up each of our Top 25 t...

Nobody's perfect, not even the best teams in college football. Here are their potential weak spots.

I like Mighty RJ Young's OBD Prediction! There is a vote for Not-A-Lot's Clemson and one for Penn State.

https://www.foxsports.com/stories/college-football/college-football-playoff-predictions-which-team-has-clearest-path-cfp

Note. Both Oregon and Indiana have week 6 off before the Hoosiers visit Eugene. Oregon's game versus Indiana is not the week after the PSU game.

We can actually say that Ohio State’s flaw is they can’t win at Autzen. Although, the sample size is extremely small.

1 hour ago, Jon Joseph said:

I like Mighty RJ Young's OBD Prediction! There is a vote for Not-A-Lot's Clemson and one for Penn State.

I do too, and by the end of the season, Thieneman will be the No.1 safety in the country! I appreciate the comment that Penn State is a team Oregon, "knows it can beat", but that was last season. 11-1 is a nice floor.

On 7/10/2025 at 2:22 PM, Jon Joseph said:

Flaws for the preseason top 2025 that could be fatal.

ESPN.com

Areas of concern: What could trip up each of our Top 25 t...

Nobody's perfect, not even the best teams in college football. Here are their potential weak spots.

On 7/10/2025 at 2:18 PM, Jon Joseph said:

The Tigers could be there, Not a Lot of doubt. 😁

But the opener versus LSU and the closer versus South Carolina in Columbia will not be easy wins. Georgia Tech and Louisville are tough road games.

Last season, the 2025 highly touted Clemson D was lit up by Louisville, SMU, and Texas. This season, SMU trips to Clemson.

40 years and counting since a team ranked lower than 13th in the final poll of the season, Oklahoma, won a title the following season. The final Committee Poll ranked Clemson 16th after the 2024-25 regular season.

Tom Allen from Penn State is heading the defense as DC at Clemson now. Last year’s shortcomings will most likely be fixed and the Clemson offense will be faster and higher scoring.

Tee it up boys.