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In terms of recruiting stars, there was no doubt that tOSU had the richer talent pool. That, plus they were lucky to avoid the nasty injury bug that bit us over and over.
Despite that, they still had to work to beat us, and it took a 57 yard pass to Jeremiah Smith to clinch it in the waning minutes of the game.
There's no doubt that Coach Freeman has established what could be a much higher ceiling that what we were used to under Brian Kelly. What we saw this year was just from 3 years of his influence, and the trend is pointing upwards.
We're no longer in the position of hoping that we can make a good showing in the 1st round of the playoffs (and failing to do so), and to have made it a game in the NCG shows what we can do.
It's still going to take another year or two, but I feel great about our position coaches when it comes to evaluating and developing talent. Looking at how our LB corps is now a highly talented, well-developed group, it makes me eternally grateful that Max Bullough is here.
One of the unsung heroes of this year was Coach Guidugli. He definitely had a hand in turning Riley Leonard into a more complete quarterback. No, Riley Leonard wasn't nearly as complete as Will Howard, etc., but as the season progressed, you could see a lot of development. I feel pretty good about his ability to get the younger guys ready for this 2025 season.
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