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The 2018 Clemson football team defeated Alabama in this season’s College Football Playoff national championship, cementing its place in the sport’s lore.
The undefeated season, punctuated by a 44-16 rout of Alabama in the title game, thrust the Tigers into the all-time great debate. Former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer argued that another team was superior to Clemson that year, pointing to Nick Bosa’s injury in 2018 as the main reason the Buckeyes failed to win the title.
“Nick Bosa is one of the best football players I’ve ever been around. I’d put Percy Harvin No. 1…maybe Nick Bosa No. 2. If Nick Bosa plays for Ohio State (in) 2018, I think Ohio State wins it all. That’s how good a player he was,” Meyer said on a recent edition of “The Triple Option” podcast he co-hosts with former Alabama player Mark Ingram II and Rob Stone.
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Urban Meyer stands on the sideline before the 2025 Peach Bowl semifinal game between the Oregon Ducks and the Indiana Hoosiers at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia on January 9, 2026. (Dale Zanine/Imagn Images)
Meyer acknowledged the logic behind preparing Nick Bosa for the NFL draft, but admitted the pick was still spicy as the Buckeyes chase a title.
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“He got hurt in the third game. When he was about to be able to come back, they decided to draft him for the NFL draft… which broke my heart. But I understand.”
Ohio State went 13-1 in 2018, with its only loss coming in the Big Ten game against Purdue. The Buckeyes were left out of the playoffs, but bounced back with a Rose Bowl victory over Washington in January 2019. Three months later, the San Francisco 49ers took Bosa No. 2 overall.
Clemson and Alabama built a pseudo title rivalry in the mid-2010s. After dominating Ohio State in the 2016 Fiesta Bowl semifinal, the Tigers edged out Alabama for the championship, redeeming a 45-40 loss to the Crimson Tide to close the 2015 season.
Ohio State defensive end Nick Bosa sacks TCU quarterback Shawn Robinson during the Advocare Showdown at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on September 15, 2018. (Matthieu Visinsky/Icon Sportswire)
Meyer also highlighted the depth of Ohio State’s defensive line in 2018, noting the presence of Bosa and Chase Young.
“We had Chase Young and Nick Bosa (on defense),” Meyer continued. “Our defense really struggled that year because Chase Young was injured most of the year and then Nick Bosa…he played three games and that was it. The offense was one of the two (or) three best offenses in the country.”
Ohio State Buckeyes defensive end Chase Young looks on during the 2019 PlayStation Fiesta Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal game against the Clemson Tigers at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona on December 28, 2019. (Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire)
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Meyer concluded by stating that that year’s Ohio State team “was a national title team.” Meyer won three national championships as a coach, winning twice at Florida and once at Ohio State.
