CFB analyst disagrees with the notion that money won Ohio State the national championship despite its $20m roster

Ohio State claimed the national championship title last season. The Buckeyes, despite the series of obstacles encountered during the regular season, put together a dominant run in the College Football Playoffs, defeating four contenders on their way to the championship.

However, many have attributed the Buckeyes' success to the program's talented roster, which was reportedly assembled with a whopping $20 million. This made many fans belittle the achievement, claiming any team with that much money could also capture the title.

However, Josh Pate disagrees with that notion. While listing the five most hated programs in college football in a recent installment of his “College Football Show,” the analyst countered the claim, believing the Buckeyes did what others couldn't to win the title.

“I put Ohio State up there too because they made a run, they won a title," Pate said. “You got folks out there, and this part of the argument I don’t buy into, but there are a bunch of folks who say, ‘Well, I could win a title if I bought a class.’ Yeah, you couldn’t. And they didn’t in that way. In the way that’s suggested, they didn’t.”

Entering the 2024 season, the team was touted to win the national title due to the level of players they recruited from high school, as well as the transfer portal. This was coupled with notable coaching hires, including Chip Kelly as offensive coordinator.

Josh Pate explains why Ohio State remains hated despite its national championship success

The national championship success should naturally make Ohio State an admired team in the college football landscape. However, this hasn't been the case for the Buckeyes as they remain widely loathed. Josh Pate explained why on a recent installment of his show.

"The reason I think enough people nationally hate Ohio State is because they win, obviously,” Pate said. "But also, I gathered through my correspondence with my audience, that everyone respected the run they just made in the playoff, but not everyone respected that they lost two games and then still got that shot.”

“A lot of people viewed Ohio State as this huge beneficiary of the new format, which they were, but I don’t hate them for that. A lot of you do hate them for that.”

The Buckeyes defeated Tennessee, Oregon, Texas and Notre Dame on their way to the national title.