College Football Insider picks Ohio State to Win National Title

Phil Steele's College Football Preview is widely regarded as the premier magazine in the country.

College Football’s Holy Grail will be raised by the Ohio State Buckeyes this season -- at least that’s what one of the game’s biggest insider says.

In an interview with 247Sports’ Brandon Marcello, Phil Steele selected Ohio State as his pick for this year’s College Football Playoff Champion. Bucknuts first acknowledged Steele’s prediction.

Steele is best known for his 2020 College Football Preview magazine that contains over 350 pages of in-depth information for each college football season. The fact that he picked the Buckeyes to raise the most coveted trophy in the game is quite noteworthy.

“I’m going with Ohio State this year,” Steele told 247Sports. “I was very impressed with what Ryan Day did. I thought Ohio State last year was two touchdowns better than the previous year’s Ohio State team.”

Ohio State enters their second full season under Day's tutelage and they’re already coming off a College Football Playoff berth in year one. OSU’s semifinal loss against Clemson is Day’s only loss in his head coaching career.

In what figures to become a unique college football season this fall, the Buckeyes have the upper-hand with experience on the offensive side of the football. Reigning Heisman Trophy finalist Justin Fields could certainly replicate last year’s success.

With 2020 only being in-conference play for OSU, the Buckeyes have a clear path back to the postseason. Ohio State went undefeated in Big Ten play last year and Fields was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year.

Perhaps even more so than Michigan, conference-rival Penn State poses the biggest test for this upcoming season. The last two times the Buckeyes played at State College resulted in nail biters. Ohio State claimed a one-point win in Beaver Stadium in 2018.

The Buckeyes return 10 starters (six on offense, four on defense) this season.

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