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If you are just going off QB’s, Greg McElroy 7th round who did nothing in the BCS championship except hand the ball off.

Yes, an elite QB can take you a long way, but you still need a complete team with solid depth and excellent coaching to complement that QB.

game with a game-manager QB. And in this era, no team that did not have an explosive offense led by a star QB has won a NC other than Alabama:

Tim Tebow, 6 ft 3 in, 245 lb, Heisman Trophy Winner, 1st round draft choice (25)
Cam Newton, 6 ft 5 in, 244 lb, Heisman Trophy Winner, 1st overall draft choice
Jameis Winston, 6 ft 4 in, 231 lb, Heisman Trophy Winner, 1st overall draft choice
Cardale Jones, 6 ft 5 in, 260 lbs, 4th round draft choice
Deshaun Watson, 6 ft 2 in, 215 lb, 1st round draft choice (12)
Trevor Lawrence, 6 ft 6 in, 220 lb, projected 1st overall draft choice in upcoming draft
Joe Burrow, 6 ft 4 in, 221 lb, Heisman Trophy Winner, 1st overall draft choice

And, of course, Saban himself abandoned that approach because, as he said, you have to have an explosive offense because great offense now beats great defense.

So, with respect, what McElroy did in 2012 is irrelevant.

That was my point too. You don’t need a 5-star QB if you have the the talent Alabama fields.

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2015 third stringer Cardale Jones, Ohio State. He was a 3-star.

Jones took over the Buckeyes (14-1) and led them to a shutout rout of Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship game, which convinced the playoff selection committee of their worthiness. Ohio State then upset Alabama, 42-35, in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1 to advance to the title game.

Jones passed for 742 yards and five touchdowns with two interceptions in the wins over Wisconsin, Alabama and Oregon, and he rushed for 90 yards and another touchdown.

....

At 6 feet 5 inches and 250 pounds, Jones has the body of a tight end, but his arm has received the most attention.

“He has a tremendous arm,” Alabama Coach Nick Saban said of Jones after the Sugar Bowl. Ohio State wide receiver Evan Spencer said last week that he had seen Jones throw the ball 65 yards on one knee.


Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/16/sports/ncaafootball/cardale-jones-says-he-will-stay-at-ohio-state.html

as close to a top 4 or 5 coach as there is. Saban with the same talent would do no better. Our talent is very good but not as good as the top 3's talent and maybe Florida's, Georgia's generally too.