ATLANTA — If all goes according to plan, there will be cigars and confetti and tears of unfiltered joy.

For Ohio State, the No. 8 seed in the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff, that was the aftermath. As the celebration began on the Mercedes-Benz Stadium field following the Buckeyes' 34-23 win over Notre Dame, the sport let out a great exhale after its longest season ever.

Perhaps the only exhale larger was that of Ryan Day, who went from the hot seat to a potential future statue recipient in Columbus in a matter of two months.

"These guys learned a bunch of life lessons, but they're going to go down as one of the greatest teams to ever play at Ohio State," Day said after the win. "After all the things that have been said throughout the year, these guys are going to be cemented as one of the best stories in Ohio State history and one of the best football teams ever."

In this new era of college football, things move faster than they ever have. The stakes are higher and the opportunities are larger.

Ohio State didn't just win a national championship that will transform its trajectory. That part seems like a given.

It outlined a blueprint for others to follow—one that maps out exactly how a team can win a title in this strange new world, where the rules are foggy at best and the possibilities are endless.

Step 1: You Guessed It; Embrace NIL and the Transfer Portal (Aka Spend Money)

Every touchdown the Buckeyes scored on Monday night were scored by a player who wasn't on the roster the previous year.

In many ways, the conversation begins and ends there.

The signing of Quinshon Judkins a little more than a year ago felt like luxury signing more than anything else. With the exceptional TreVeyon Henderson already on the roster, Judkins, who blossomed into a dominant running back at Ole Miss before joining the Buckeyes.

On Monday night, Judkins was a star. He followed up two first-half touchdowns with a 70-yard run to open the second half. He then scored a few plays later.

The rumors surrounding Ohio State's NIL spending spree this past offseason ranged from "a lot" to "unfathomable."

Regardless of just how many millions were spent to build this roster—and $20 million is the number that many have latched onto—one thing is certain.

It worked.

Judkins was not the only elite player to take his talent. Caleb Downs, one of the best defensive players in college football, joined the Buckeyes when Nick Saban retired. As did Julian Sayin, a 5-star QB in the class of 2024.

And then there was Will Howard, who played for Kansas State in 2023 before joining the Buckeyes last offseason. Howard began Monday night with 13 straight completions—a national championship record. He also ultimately delivered a deep ball that sealed the game. (More on that in a moment.)

It wasn't just new players, though. Defensive standouts Jack Sawyer and J.T. Tuimoloau made the decision to return. As did running back TreVeyon Henderson and others.

Their decision to stay was theirs alone, although NIL undoubtedly made it much easier than it has ever been.

Indeed, to be a great team moving forward you must have the resources to build a great roster in new and creative ways. More specifically, you need boatloads of cash and yearly support that will give coaches the resources necessary to add the pieces they need.

To say this is the only way to build a winner would be incorrect. Until further notice, however, it's a necessity. Ohio State showed us this and more.

Step 2: Recruit Elite Players Every Single Year

Two hours before the national championship began, wearing a No. 9 jersey over red sweatpants and a red sweatshirt, Tavien St. Clair, one of the best high school seniors in the nation, watched from the sidelines.

St. Clair, an Ohio State commit and the No. 3 player in the class of 2025, according to 247 Sports, originally committed to the Buckeyes in the summer of 2023. He officially signed this past December.

In many respects, St. Clair symbolizes precisely what it takes to become and maintain the status of being an elite football team.

Sure, the transfer portal can transform your roster, especially at key positions. But continuously recruiting an elite level—injecting new young talent each and every year—is still the lifeblood of prolonged success.

The last time the Buckeyes had a class ranked outside 247 Sports' team rankings? That would be 2019. It should come as no surprise that the talent, even at these unusual times, came together like it did.

St. Clair didn't make a single throw on Monday night. He wasn't even wearing pads. But the future of the next championship run was on site.

On the field, the future and the present was on display, which has been the case all season long. After a quiet semifinal, true freshman Jeremiah Smith scored the team's first touchdown.

He then delivered the game-sealing catch, a 57-yard grab on third-and-long that sealed the win for Ohio State.

Smith wasn't just one of the best freshmen in the nation. He quickly became one of biggest stars in the sport—a player who will likely be a staple for the Buckeyes the next two seasons.

What he did and the impact he had wasn't normal. Smith is a football unicorn in every sense. But his presence does highlight just how important this part of the job still is, even with massive changes everywhere else.

Step 3: Don't Just Build a Roster, Build a Staff

The relationship blossomed in New Hampshire more than two decades ago, back when Ryan Day was a quarterback and Chip Kelly was an unknown offensive coordinator.

On Monday, Day and Kelly engineered a brilliant offensive attack against one of the nation's best defenses—showcasing how comfort, experience and sheer football brains could come together on the biggest stage.

Although Day and Kelly share a bond that is atypical, the decision to bring him to Columbus turned out to be a brilliant one. Kelly, however, is just a piece of the Ohio State coaching puzzle.

According to USA Today's assistant coach salary database, the Buckeyes paid their assistant coaches more than any program in the country.

In fact, of the 32 highest paid assistants across the sport, five were Buckeyes. Six assistants made $1,000,000 or more.

While Kelly was brilliant, one could easily argue that no assistant impacted this team more than defensive coordinator Jim Knowles. Knowles, who joined the program before the 2022 season, has transformed the defensive side of the ball since he arrived.

He is paid handsomely ($2.2 million per year) to coach defense, and he has done just that.

But it wasn't just him. Day has assembled a dream coaching staff, taking on a more CEO approach this season. He's leaned on both talent and relationships to make it so, showcasing just how much was needed to see it through.

This part isn't easy, and it certainly won't be cheap. But one could argue the rest of the steps aren't possible if this isn't followed.

Step 4: And Finally, Be Patient

When Jayden Fielding's 33-yard field goal sailed inside the right upright with less than a minute remaining, pushing Ohio State's lead over Notre Dame to 11 points, Day unleashed a smile that seemed to occupy his whole face.

And who can blame him.

It was less than two months ago that Day sat in a fog on the Ohio State sideline after a crushing, heartbreaking loss to Michigan as a brawl ensued. From there, questions surrounding his future seemed to blanket the conversation up until the playoff began.

"I wouldn't say that it was a reset," Day said after the game about the loss. "It wasn't like at the end of the year we were broken. It wasn't that way. We had an awful day. I don't know how else to describe it. We had an awful day, and we just said we could never do that again."

While money and resources and talent can win championships, sometimes you need a little patience. Sometimes, through pain and failure, you learn how to lose before you learn how to win big.

Jim Harbaugh knows this very well. Before winning a national championship a season ago, Harbaugh, like Day, felt like he was often coaching for his job. The expectations were enormous, and it took him nine seasons—nearly a decade—to finally bring his alma mater to a title.

It's poetic that Day followed Harbaugh's title with one of his own, exorcising similar demons in similar fashion to the man he struggled to beat.

This era of the sport has created more demanding fan bases and all but eliminated patience. It pushed Day, despite entering the offseason with a coaching record of 70-10, to the brink of the hot seat and program toxicity.

Patience is required, even if it isn't always preferred. If there is anything to take away from Ohio State's triumph, it's that winning at this level is incredibly difficult, no matter the resources or talent involved.