Avoiding Three Pitfalls In 2025 Is A Lesson To Be Learned From Previous National Championship Teams

“Now let’s go get another one of these…” ~ Ohio State head coach Ryan Day, at the national championship celebration on January 26, 2025

As I write this article, Ohio State spring football is right around the corner, officially beginning on March 17th. While it does not count in the standings, spring football represents the planning and preparation for another football season, with Ohio State concluding its spring drills with a “spring showcase” in Ohio Stadium on April 12th.

Without question, and this goes for all college football coaches around the country, getting through spring football without injuries to players is crucial. Many a football program, Ohio State included, have had to deal with the depressing aftermath of how to bounce back after a player or players have been lost for the upcoming season.

Ohio State has some other challenges and obstacles to contend with that other football programs do not have to worry about this spring. As the defending national champions (boy, do I enjoy typing that phrase out, I am not going to lie), the Buckeyes have some other concerns that Ryan Day will need to contemplate throughout the spring, as well as the upcoming summer workouts.

1. Avoiding Internal Team Distractions ~ In 2003, Ohio State was coming off a thrilling double overtime win in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl over Miami (FL) that earned the Buckeyes the national championship, and it was certainly plausible to believe that Jim Tressel’s returning players were going to be in the national championship discussion again. Unfortunately, Maurice Clarett became embroiled in controversial off-the-field events that resulted in the end of his Ohio State career, and this dark cloud hovered over the team throughout the 2003 season. There truly is no point to relitigating what happened, or who was at fault with everything that happened with Maurice Clarett – the point I am making is that avoiding any type of internal team distractions would behoove Ryan Day as the 2025 season gets underway.
2. The Cohesiveness Of The Coaching Staff ~ In 2015, Urban Meyer had the bulk of his national championship team from the 2014 season back, but a notable staff change at offensive coordinator took place, with Tom Herman leaving to become the head coach of the University of Houston. Meyer promoted Ed Warinner to be offensive coordinator, while also hiring Tim Beck in as a co-offensive coordinator and quarterback coach. Unfortunately, Ohio State never seemed to mesh offensively, with Cardale Jones starting the season off at quarterback, before the decision was made to go back to J.T. Barrett. This situation has similarities to this year’s team, with the promotion of Brian Hartline to offensive coordinator, and the elevation of Keenan Bailey as co-offensive coordinator and Billy Fessler to quarterbacks coach – the point I am making is Ryan Day will need to closely monitor how the new staff members are meshing, as the 2015 team can serve as a cautionary tale for the 2025 squad.
3. Avoiding “Rat Poison” ~ This last point was something that former Alabama head coach Nick Saban used to periodically reference. Essentially, rat poison in Saban’s mind was “anything that distracts you from doing the things that you need to do to do your job…Whether it’s created by the media, the weather, it could be created by anything.” For Ryan Day, who will be trying to repeat as national champions, it may be worth picking up the phone to Nick Saban and picking his brain about how he was able to get his teams to avoid “rat poison,” as Saban was able to win consecutive national championships in the 2011 and 2012 seasons.