When it comes to being a legitimate national championship contender, it starts with recruiting. To be in the College Football Playoff conversation, to be one of those teams good enough to get into the gridiron’s final four, pulling in the talent is where it all begins.
Once a team is in that area code of having players, along with the normal luck with injuries – bad luck for the opposition on that front a time or two sure can help, too, excellent coaching, breaks with the schedule, where teams fall on the schedule and all sorts of unforeseeable and unpredictable circumstance, there is one other major factor that dictates who is most likely to take home the big trophy.