Building a college football program that stays strong year after year ranks among the toughest challenges in the sport. Plenty of recent national champions have learned that lesson the hard way.
Schools such as Florida, Auburn, Florida State and Clemson all experienced clear declines after their title runs within the past two decades. Even Alabama endured roughly a quarter-century of inconsistency between the Bear Bryant era and the arrival of Nick Saban.
Former three-time national champion coach Urban Meyer addressed the issue recently on “The Triple Option” podcast with Rob Stone. The FOX Sports analyst and Hall of Famer named the 10 programs he believes are best positioned for sustained success. At the top of his list sat Ohio State, where he coached from 2012 to 2018.
Ohio State stands out as one of the rare programs that has remained a consistent power across multiple eras of the game. The Buckeyes claim nine national championships, spanning from 1942 to a title in 2024, well after Meyer stepped away from coaching.
Meyer inherited a complicated situation when he arrived in Columbus. The program faced NCAA sanctions stemming from the end of Jim Tressel’s tenure, a period often referred to as Tattoogate. Investigations of that nature typically set programs back for several seasons, as seen at places like Penn State and Ole Miss during the 2010s.
Despite a postseason ban in his first year, the Buckeyes still finished the regular season undefeated at 12-0. Two years later, they captured the first College Football Playoff national championship with a decisive win over Oregon.
Meyer pointed to Ohio State’s recruiting approach as a major reason for its long-term strength. He recalled how the Big Ten often limited itself to players from its traditional geographic area nearly a decade ago.
“The Big Ten was caught in recruiting their footprint. I kept hearing that when I was hired there in 2012 and I kept telling people ‘I don’t give a (expletive) about the footprint,’” Meyer said. “‘We’re gonna go after the top five running backs, top five receivers (and) top five linemen and I don’t care if they’re in Texas or Georgia or anywhere.’”
That same national mindset continues to shape the program today. In the 2027 recruiting class, just five of Ohio State’s 19 current commitments come from the state of Ohio. Nine of those pledges hail from states that are also home to at least one Southeastern Conference program.
Meyer’s ranking reflects more than recent results. It highlights institutional advantages that allow a school to weather sanctions, coaching changes and shifting conference landscapes while continuing to attract elite talent from across the country.
Other programs have enjoyed stretches of dominance only to slide when the supporting pieces faltered. Ohio State’s combination of history, resources and recruiting reach has helped it avoid prolonged downturns that have hit many of its peers.
The conversation on the podcast underscored how rare true stability remains in modern college football. Conference realignment, the transfer portal and name, image and likeness deals have made consistency even harder to maintain for most teams.
Meyer’s view carries weight given his own track record of turning programs around quickly and winning at the highest level. His assessment places Ohio State in a category few others currently occupy when looking years down the road rather than just the next season.
Fans and analysts will continue debating the relative strength of various blue-blood programs. For now, the former Buckeyes coach has made clear which one he sees as best equipped to keep winning over the long haul.
