Although poised to reach immortality for much of the season, the 2019 Buckeyes will likely be remembered most in years to come as an entry on a “best team to never win it all” list.

If the 2020 iteration hopes to avoid a similar fate, Ohio State will need to clear all the hurdles. Some will be unforeseen, like the series of controversial calls and inopportune red zone bungles that may have cost this past year’s squad the Fiesta Bowl, but some can be identified well in advance.

Assuming the season starts on time, here are three obstacles the Buckeyes will need to properly maneuver around to get a crack at redemption and a national championship in 2020.

Ohio State is no stranger to an early out-of-conference litmus test.

Even though the Buckeyes’ early 2019 schedule was fluffy, they’ve taken swings at ranked opponents like TCU, Oklahoma and Miami (FL) dating back to 2010.

But Oregon, who finished No. 5 after beating Wisconsin in the 2019 Rose Bowl, is just the second game of the year for the Buckeyes. Since 2005, Ohio State has matched up with a top 10 opponent in the first two weeks of the season four times, of which they won just one game.

An early test of this caliber is particularly worrisome when considering the lack of spring practice and slow return to summer and fall workouts due to COVID-19. Sure, Oregon and every other program in the country is on even playing field in that regard, but it leaves the door open for unpredictable outcomes in early games that might not have occurred once teams have established their true form later on.

The good news for Buckeye fans is an early loss is much easier to overcome than a late one, but Oklahoma was the lone team last year that still made the college football playoff after sustaining a loss.

The identity of the Buckeye offense will have to be somewhat reconfigured without the dependability of 160 yards per game from JK Dobbins.

The Buckeyes haven’t struggled at replacing all-time great running backs per se ––though the Dan Herron-Brandon Saine years weren’t particularly astonishing –– but 2020 will be the first year Ohio State isn’t returning a 1,000-yard rusher since 2016.

Master Teague did chew up nearly 800 yards on the ground for the Buckeyes this past year, but almost all of it came in mop-up duty. In big spots Teague was rendered ineffective, running for two yards per carry on 19 attempts against Michigan and Clemson combined.

His projected hold on the starting spot loosened when an injury ruled him out of spring practice for the Buckeyes following their first March session.

But the only other running back on the roster to crack 200 rushing yards in 2019, Marcus Crowley, was still out indefinitely with an injury of his own to add an extra punctuation to the question mark at the position.

The answer came just a few weeks later with the transfer of Oklahoma running back Trey Sermon. The Georgia native ran for nearly 1,000 yards and 13 touchdowns as a sophomore in 2018, but received only 54 carries last year after being supplanted in the starting lineup.

Sermon adds much-needed talent and experience to the Ohio State running back room, but he’s coming off a season-ending knee injury this past November.

The state of affairs in the Buckeye backfield is much improved with the addition of Sermon, but it doesn’t mean that there won’t be some shuffling in the offensive scheme to account for the loss of Dobbins.

Other than cornerback Shaun Wade, the entire starting secondary from 2019 is gone.

Safety Jordan Fuller and cornerbacks Jeff Okudah and Damon Arnette all take with them to the NFL years of starting experience on the Ohio State defense, something not easily made up for with 2019’s reserves.

Tyreke Johnson and Marcus Williamson were two highly-touted high school prospects that remain on the Buckeyes’ roster at cornerback, but Sevyn Banks and Cameron Brown got the nod most often when a backup’s services were required in big spots this past year.

At high safety, Josh Proctor will step into Fuller’s shoes this year after sporadic big-game reps in 2019. However, Day has hinted that the defense may employ more two-safety looks, which may provide opportunity for redshirt sophomore Marcus Hooker.

Although Ohio State had the No. 1 passing defense in the country in 2019, it is just one year removed from being No. 86 in that department. The return of Kerry Coombs means the Buckeye secondary will remain in good hands after a stellar year from Jeff Hafley, but questions will linger until there are proven results on the field from the new starters.