{"id":71890,"date":"2025-01-23T09:00:58","date_gmt":"2025-01-23T14:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/?p=71890"},"modified":"2025-09-18T08:43:55","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T12:43:55","slug":"ohio-state-and-michigans-blueprint-for-success-in-new-era-of-college-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2025\/01\/23\/ohio-state-and-michigans-blueprint-for-success-in-new-era-of-college-football\/","title":{"rendered":"Ohio State and Michigan’s Blueprint For Success in New Era of College Football"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the first time since the Big Ten threepeat when Minnesota won it all in 1940 and 1941, and Ohio State won in 1942, the Big Ten Conference has won consecutive National Championships<\/a>. Fittingly, the two most recent titles were won by the two most prestigious programs in the conference and two of the bluest of bluebloods<\/a>\u00a0in all of college football. No matter how much these two programs are at each other’s throats 24\/7, one thing is abundantly obvious: Ohio State and Michigan have given college football a blueprint for success in the NIL\/transfer portal era.<\/p>\n

At no point will the two fanbases admit any similarities between the last two titles. Michigan went 15-0, was accused of some let’s say unsportsmanlike behaviors, and won the final four-team playoff. Ohio State dropped two games (one of which to Michigan in Columbus), did not win the Big Ten, and won the first-ever 12-team playoff. The paths could not be more different. And yet, the building blocks of both programs are eerily similar.<\/p>\n

Ohio State and Michigan’s Blueprint For Success in New Era of College Football<\/h2>\n

Taking Care of One’s Own<\/h3>\n

Michigan’s national championship<\/a> run was on the back of 44 seniors and graduate students. Players like Blake Corum, Zak Zinter<\/a>, Kris Jenkins, Jr.<\/a>, and Mike Sainristil<\/a> turned down the NFL to run it back.<\/p>\n

Ohio State’s was no different. The Buckeyes listed 40 seniors and graduate students on the roster. Emeka Egbuka<\/a>, TreVeyon Henderson<\/a>, Jack Sawyer<\/a>, Jaylahn Tuimoloau<\/a>, Tyleik Williams<\/a>, and Denzel Burke were likely headed to the NFL. So much has been made about Ohio State’s alleged $20 million roster<\/a>. Well, there is your answer. Most of that funding was used to convince potentially NFL-bound players to return for one more shot.<\/p>\n

Michigan had 13 players drafted in the 2024 NFL Draft. Ohio State could have something like 17 this year with 11 top-100 players<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In a sport that is so rapidly ever-changing, continuity continues to be the great equalizer. Compared to 2023, Ohio State’s defense returned (technically) nine starters (Sonny Styles<\/a> started at safety and then moved to starting linebacker). That defense ended up as the top unit in all of college football. It was the same for Michigan in 2023. Defense wins championships, as they say.<\/p>\n

All in all, recruiting players who wholly buy into a program and a coach’s message will pay dividends. When presented with the opportunity to jump to the NFL early or stick around for one more shot, those players will return to lead your team to glory.<\/p>\n

Quality Over Quantity<\/h3>\n

Of the 134 FBS programs, three of the top 37 teams that took in the most transfers made it to the College Football Playoff. Taking in scores of transfers may look like a winning strategy for some but it’s not a sustainable model. The transfer portal and NIL era certainly give teams every opportunity to bring in dozens of transfers. For some, it’s become a way of life. For others, it’s been how they’ve been able to tread water.<\/p>\n

Indiana made the CFP thanks to 31 incoming transfers. Curt Cignetti came from James Madison and brought a handful of his best players with him. For Cignetti and the Hoosiers, the portal could be a decent strategy to garner momentum and respect that will yield recruiting dividends. It was the same for Arizona State and SMU, a pair of programs with little real success in the years leading up to 2024.<\/p>\n

For the Buckeyes and Wolverines, the portal was more about patching holes. Michigan’s 2023 run was aided by Josaiah Stewart<\/a>, LaDarius Henderson<\/a>, AJ Barner<\/a>, Myles Hinton<\/a>, Ernest Hausmann<\/a>, and Drake Nugent, six of the team’s nine transfers. In 2024, Ohio State brought in seven transfers, led by Caleb Downs<\/a>, Seth McLaughlin<\/a>, Quinshon Judkins<\/a>, Will Howard<\/a>, and Will Kacmarek<\/a>. Each of those five transfers was integral to the Buckeyes’ success. Downs was a unanimous First-Team All-American and McLaughlin won the Rimington Trophy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ohio State knew where its deficiencies were after the 2023 season. Through the portal, it addressed each issue with ease<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This year’s transfer portal class is weaker than those from the last few years. There will be some programs just looking to tread water and get back to relevancy. At that same time, is not a sustainable model of success to take in dozens upon dozens of transfers.<\/p>\n

A B1G Threepeat?<\/h3>\n

Next year, the Big Ten will look to win three titles in a row for the first time since Ohio State tacked on a third title in 1942 after that back-to-back run by Minnesota. Michigan is gearing up for another run. Ohio State recruits as well as any in the country but it will have to reload at almost every position.<\/p>\n

The team that is following this model is Penn State. Oregon will also be one of the best teams in the country again but it’s the Nittany Lions who are bringing everyone back for one last crack at it. Drew Allar<\/a>, Nicholas Singleton<\/a>, and Kaytron Allen<\/a> will be a formidable force yet again. They’ll have to re-tool that wide receiver room, however.<\/p>\n

NIL is throwing a massive wrench into the cogs of both college football and the NFL. Unless players are receiving first-round grades, they can just return for the same or better salary that they could get as a mid-round prospect. This year, Abdul Carter<\/a> is headed to the NFL because he is likely going to be a top-10 pick. Last year, it was Marvin Harrison, Jr.\u00a0As nice as it would have been\/would be to have these players still on the roster, you can’t blame them for taking the jump.<\/p>\n

There is a feeling that the Big Ten is finally on top and running football. After winning back-to-back titles behind Ohio State and Michigan, who can say otherwise? Contenders, take note. Take care of your own, recruit well, and don’t chase the 30-man transfer portal class. Or else you’ll end up spending your postseason tweeting through the pain of missing out of an expanded playoff.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ohio State and Michigan are mortal enemies. Even then, they’ve shown college football what it takes to win it all and stay relevant.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4051,"featured_media":71907,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,2,35631,35609],"tags":[5868,5144,7780,34805,7259,279,73],"class_list":["post-71890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bigten","category-featured","category-michigan-wolverines","category-ohio-state-buckeyes","tag-blake-corum","tag-curt-cignetti","tag-denzel-burke","tag-drake-nugent","tag-marvin-harrison-jr","tag-michigan-wolverines","tag-ohio-state-buckeyes"],"modified_by":"Michael Kovacs, ADMIN","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4051"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71890"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71890\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":71908,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71890\/revisions\/71908"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71907"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}