College football: 25 biggest what-ifs of the 2010s

College football: 2010s biggest what-ifs: 16. Nick Bosa doesn’t get hurt

Ohio State is always amongst a small handful of teams pegged as an early-season favorite. But in 2018, many believed they were the best team in the country. Sure quarterback Dwayne Haskins played a major role in that thought process, he did, after all, end the season by throwing for 50 touchdowns, only eight interceptions and completed 70% of his passes.

Still, despite the gaudy numbers, it was all-world defensive end Nick Bosa, who had the pulse of this squad.

From the moment he first stepped onto the field in 2016, he was a monster. The year prior, Bosa ended his year registering 34 total tackles and 16 sacks. He appeared to be on his way to an even better year in 2018. Through three games, Bosa recorded four sacks and 14 tackles.

Bosa’s dominance was ultimately short-lived as his season came to an end after having surgery on his core. The Buckeyes still went on to have a stellar season and finished in the third spot in the College Football Playoffs. With that said, they were bounced in the opening round by Clemson. How much of a difference could Bosa have made? An incredibly huge one.

With several scouts pegging Bosa as the best player in all of college football, he had the sort of game and dealt the kind of pressure that made quarterbacks uncomfortable from the beginning. It’s safe to say that Buckeye fans would have liked their chances a lot more if he actually played.

If he did, Bosa could have sent Urban Meyer out the door with a ring instead of a whimper.