COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Recency bias suggests that the thing that just happened is the biggest, greatest, most significant thing. Sometimes, that’s 100% true. For example, Jack Sawyer’s strip-sack touchdown to clinch the Cotton Bowl victory over Texas ranks as (to me, anyway) the greatest single defensive play in Ohio State history. The 2024 national championship run for Ohio State stands as one of the most exciting, late-season runs in the school's history. Yes, it was a team loaded with veteran leaders while sprinkling in several elite young stars like Jeremiah Smith and Caleb Downs. Talent is never in short supply at OSU, and this year it was overflowing. How much Ohio State’s Ryan Day made for winning national championship However, when you think back to Dec. 1 and the aftermath of the Michigan performance, I’m not sure many fans gave Ohio State a real shot at rattling off four straight wins over powerhouse programs. Coach Ryan Day was cooked. But on Jan. 20, Day and his team were belting out Carmen Ohio after defeating Notre Dame 34-23 to win the national championship in Atlanta. That win amounts to the ninth national title for OSU (the first in 10 years) and an incoming mountain of merchandise sales. Watch Day reflect on the win in the video player above. Was this the greatest run, or the greatest Buckeyes team ever? No one actually knows the answer, and it’s all your opinion. Whichever one gave you the most joy is the only answer that matters. But all those great teams had a common trait: failure. Look: Photos from the championship game ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 20: The Ohio State Buckeyes players along with Head Coach Ryan Day on the podium with National Championship trophy after the Ohio State Buckeyes versus Notre Dame Fighting Irish College Football Playoff National Championship game on January 20, 2025, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA. (Photo by John Adams/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)ATLANTA, GEORGIA - JANUARY 20: Tyleik Williams #91 of the Ohio State Buckeyes of the Ohio State Buckeyes celebrates after defeating the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 34-23 in the 2025 CFP National Championship at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 20, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 20: Wide Receiver Jeremiah Smith #4 of the Ohio State Buckeyes runs with the ball after a catch during the Ohio State Buckeyes versus Notre Dame Fighting Irish College Football Playoff National Championship game on January 20, 2025, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA. (Photo by David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)ATLANTA, GEORGIA - JANUARY 20: Will Howard #18 of the Ohio State Buckeyes reacts after throwing a pass for a first down against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the fourth quarter in the 2025 CFP National Championship at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 20, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)ATLANTA, GEORGIA - JANUARY 20: Jaden Greathouse #1 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish catches a pass in front of Jordan Hancock #7 of the Ohio State Buckeyes for a touchdown during the fourth quarter in the 2025 CFP National Championship at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 20, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)ATLANTA, GEORGIA - JANUARY 20: The Ohio State Buckeyes marching band performs during the third quarter against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the 2025 CFP National Championship at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 20, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)ATLANTA, GEORGIA - JANUARY 20: Quinshon Judkins #1 of the Ohio State Buckeyes celebrates during the second quarter against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the 2025 CFP National Championship at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 20, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)ATLANTA, GEORGIA - JANUARY 20: Will Howard #18 celebrates a touchdown with Josh Fryar #70 of the Ohio State Buckeyes against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the second quarter in the 2025 CFP National Championship at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 20, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)ATLANTA, GA JANUARY 20: Linebacker Drayk Bowen #34 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish reacts following the conclusion of the the Ohio State Buckeyes versus Notre Dame Fighting Irish College Football Playoff National Championship game on January 20, 2025, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA. (Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) It’s an important reminder: Failure can produce elite results. Great teams still, often famously, fail. The greatest teams are the ones who refuse to accept failure as final. In all walks of life, people who take risks and fail often use that failure to arrive at success. Think back to the start of the season and the expectations back then. This was a team projected to deliver a national championship. “Natty or bust” was a line repeated often by the team’s veteran stars in the preseason. It was certainly not a perfect team. The questions about Kansas State transfer Will Howard at quarterback, the revamped special teams and how Cody Simon and Sonny Styles would handle new responsibilities at linebacker were among the biggest concerns. And as Ohio State learned first-hand, injuries always alter the journey. When OSU lost by a point at Oregon and starting tackle Josh Simmons was lost for the season, the championship picture certainly became cloudy. When Rimington Award-winning center Seth McLaughlin was lost for the season, that picture went from cloudy to stormy. When OSU neglected to use first downs to attack the Michigan defense in the passing game, that picture was set on fire. The only way to extinguish that fire was to light another one. Beginning Dec. 20 with the trashing of Tennessee, it was clear Ohio State had recommitted to attack with its strengths. It was a similar story in 2014 when OSU ran into Virginia Tech’s bear-front defense (basically, five defensive linemen). That loss propelled OSU to start attacking with Michael Thomas and Devin Brown downfield, drawing defenders back and allowing Ezekiel Elliott to become, simply, Zeke. Failure fueled that fire, and the mishaps of November 30th fueled this latest elite OSU run. Even the 2002 undefeated Buckeye title team found fuel in multiple near-disasters. The Cincinnati thriller, Holy Buckeye at Purdue, overtime at Illinois. That team used all of its nine lives, but showed up week after week for the next fight. The national championship game win over Miami, for many Buckeyes lovers, stands as their favorite night as a fan of the team. It was a team with an undefeated record and a star-studded lineup, still fueled by imperfections. The only constant in life is change. Through frequently changing circumstances, Day found new ways to get his players and staff to commit to their plan. They are not perfect athletes and coaches — they make mistakes frequently, just like the rest of us. But their commitment and desire were perfectly demonstrated from Dec. 20 through Jan. 20, when the stakes were the highest. Even in the victory over Notre Dame, you saw flawed moments, penalties and a critical fumble. With the Irish holding all the momentum late in the 4th quarter, the Howard 57-yard toss to Smith on 3rd down was the gutsiest delivery in the gutsiest moment of the season. Again … failure fueled greatness. In 2025, Day and his staff are set to take on a fairly large rebuild on the Buckeyes roster. It will come with failure. Some highly recruited players will not work out. Gameplans will get wrecked. But those players also now have a clear view of what happens when failure meets commitment. The program still has the lingering Michigan problem that will continue to ground and humble them. Perhaps Ohio State goes back-to-back next year, or it could run into multiple setbacks. Either way, failure is coming. And it’s a blessing.