Trends from the last time Ohio State won a national title in 2015

On By Littum

  • JJ Post, ESPNJanuary 20, 2025, 11:09 PM ET

The Ohio State Buckeyes are back on top of the college football world.

Ten years and eight days removed from their last national championship, Ohio State returned to the sport’s summit Monday night with a 34-23 victory over Notre Dame. Quarterback Will Howard excelled for the Buckeyes, throwing for 231 yards and two touchdowns. Ohio State running back Quinshon Judkins added 100 yards on the ground and two scores himself.

A lot has changed since Ohio State last hoisted a national championship trophy on Jan. 12, 2015. Here’s what the world looked like the last time the Buckeyes ruled the college football world.

The Golden State Warriors win their first title in 40 years

Led by league MVP Stephen Curry and fellow Splash Brother Klay Thompson, the Warriors were a roaring success in head coach Steve Kerr’s first season. At the time of Ohio State’s championship win, the Warriors were 29-5 and coming off a victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, their eventual opponent in the NBA Finals.

The Cavaliers jumped out to a 2-1 lead in those Finals. In Game 4, however, Andre Iguodala joined Golden State’s starting lineup and the Warriors dominated, winning the next three games for their first championship since 1975. Iguodala was named Finals MVP after averaging 16.3 points in the series.

It was the first of three titles in four years for Curry, Thompson, Iguodala & Co.

‘Uptown Funk’ tops the charts

Three weeks into 2015, Mark Ronson’s “Uptown Funk” featuring Bruno Mars rose to the top of the Billboard Hot 100.

“Uptown Funk” spent 14 weeks at No. 1 until mid-April. It also ended the 2010s at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 of the decade.

‘American Sniper’ thrives in theaters

No. 1 at the box office the weekend after OSU’s homecoming was titled “American Sniper,” starring Bradley Cooper as Navy SEAL Chris Kyle.

“American Sniper” enjoyed four weekends at the top of the box office in January.

The USWNT returns to the women’s soccer summit

After lifting the trophy in two of the first three editions of the Women’s World Cup, the US Women’s National Team fell short of a title in 2003, 2007 and 2011.

In 2015, however, the USWNT returned to the World Cup and began an impressive run, conceding just one goal in its first six games in the tournament. The final against Japan – a rematch of the 2011 final – turned into a tie as Golden Ball winner Carli Lloyd’s hat trick helped the USA to a 5-2 victory.

Joe Burrow and Denzel Ward enroll at Ohio State

Neither Burrow nor Ward went in as the most-touted players in the Buckeyes’ 2015 recruiting class — ranked 12th and 20th in the class by ESPN — but both rose to stardom in good time.

Burrow spent three seasons as a reserve and backup in Ohio State’s quarterback room before transferring to LSU, where he put together a two-year stint that resulted in a 60-touchdown 2019 season, a national title and a Heisman Trophy. The top pick in the 2020 NFL draft is now among the league’s best quarterbacks.

Ward spent three years in Columbus, with his third year being a productive All-American campaign. The Cleveland Browns rewarded him for his impressive season by taking him 4th overall in the 2018 NFL Draft. He picked up his fourth Pro Bowl with the team this season.