Winning a championship in a major sport is tough. Winning back to back championships in a major sport is even tougher. That’s what the Ohio State Buckeyes are trying to do in the 2015 college football season.

Since the inception of the BCS, there has only been one school in college football that has won back-to-back national championships.  That distinction belongs to the University of Alabama (Alabama won the 2011 and 2012 national championship).

The Buckeyes come into this season with huge expectations for their team. Not too many people (myself included) thought

they had a shot at winning last year’s first ever college football playoff. Some thought they wouldn’t make it to the first ever college football playoff. I can admit I did have them going down to who I thought was the better team in Alabama in the national semifinals. But the Buckeyes defeated Alabama in a relatively close game, and went on to the National Championship game. In the title game, I thought they wouldn’t be able to keep up with Marcus Mariota and the high-powered offense of Oregon. One thing I can admit to when it comes to sports is when I’m wrong, and boy was I wrong. Ohio State steamrolled Oregon in the championship 42-20, led by superstar quarterback Cardale Jones.

With a new season upon us, the reigning national champions have returned the majority of their key players from their previous title run. 11 of their top 22 players were either freshmen or sophomores. They also return 15 offensive and defensive starters, and they didn’t lose any underclassmen to the NFL draft this past April / May. Head coach Urban Meyer supplemented his returning talent by adding a top 10 recruiting class to his loaded roster. With all the talent Ohio State has returning this year and with their newcomers, it’s no surprise this team is the overwhelming preseason number one team in the country, receiving 62 of 64 first place votes in the preseason coaches’ poll.

Having the talent and all of the pieces of the puzzle is one thing, but actually putting the puzzle together is another. Every game in college football is important. There are no throw away games where you can rest your starters, (see: San Antonio Spurs) or not be ready to play as a team. One slip up or bad game that leads to a loss can spell doom for a college football teams’ season. The pressure can build and become towering for anyone, let alone 18-22 year old college students. They have everyone expecting them to win because of the great talent they have on their team, but the chemistry, effort, and desire has to be there. They will also have every team on their schedule wanting to be the team to knock off the reigning champions, and teams will definitely try to bring their A game to knock them off.

Urban Meyer knows first hand what it’s like to try to win back-to-back national championships. He was the head coach of the 2008 Florida Gators national championship squad with Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow returning as the starting quarterback, along with the team’s entire defensive starting lineup. That team went 12-0 during the regular season and ultimately ended up losing to Alabama in the SEC Championship. Meyer felt so much pressure that season that he would later say in interviews he grew depressed and was “mentally broke.” He suffered from chest pains after the Gators lost to Alabama in the 2009 SEC title game, and briefly stepped away from his job for health reasons. This time around, Meyer is determined to make sure those problems don’t repeat as his Buckeyes attempt to repeat. “We went undefeated in the Southeastern Conference and it was a miserable year, according to people, including myself,” he said last month at Big Ten media day. “That’s my fault. If we win every game this year, I can assure you it’s not going to be miserable. We’re not going to play that game.”

To make sure this time is different in his quest for back-to-back national championships, Meyer doesn’t want his team talking about winning another national championship. He wants them to focus on the basics and the little things that are needed to win a football game. He is promoting the team’s calling card of “Nine Strong,” which means that all nine position units are focused on playing at their full strength and capability, and as a team.

As far as their schedule is concerned, I don’t see any teams that can beat them, but the major game on the schedule is the huge rivalry game against the Maize and Blue in Michigan November 28th. We will have to wait and see how the Buckeye season unfolds.

The Buckeyes will open up their season on Monday night, September 7th at Virginia Tech, 8:00 pm on ESPN.