With the New Year beginning next week, that’s brought many “Best of the Decade” lists, although one could argue the current decade doesn’t end until 2020. Regardless, the last ten years have seen inevitable change to sports teams around the globe. This series will take a look at several of those teams who have adapted well to change, and those who haven’t.

This edition will examine how Ohio State Buckeyes football fared in the 2010s.

The start of the decade saw high expectations for the Buckeyes, as they began the 2010 calendar year with a Rose Bowl win over Oregon. With quarterback Terrelle Pryor back along with other other returning starters, Ohio State was a heavy favorite to contend for the national title, but a midseason loss to Wisconsin saw the Buckeyes settle for a shared conference title.

While Ohio State would win their Sugar Bowl matchup with Arkansas, they would ultimately vacate that result – along with the whole season – as punishment for violations involving a memorabilia scandal that would also force the resignation of head coach Jim Tressel. While Luke Fickell did the best he could as interim, the Buckeyes would endure their first non-winning season since 1999, with losses in their final four games, including to archrival Michigan.

Urban Meyer was brought in as the new permanent head coach, and started his tenure with 24 straight wins. There would come a point, though, when the Buckeyes lost three of four – the Big Ten Championship Game to Michigan State, the Orange Bowl to Clemson, and a regular-season matchup with Virginia Tech. Despite that, the 2014 Buckeyes responded to that early setback with 13 straight wins, culminating with victories over Alabama and Oregon as they won the inaugural College Football Playoff. After many years of near-misses, Ohio State returned to “National Champion” status.

The 2015, 2016, and 2017 seasons would all be extremely similar, with Ohio State fielding good teams, but never quite able to get back to the championship game. The Buckeyes did return to the playoff in 2016 despite not winning the Big Ten, but were outclassed by eventual national champion Clemson. 2017 saw a rare two-loss season, with Oklahoma and Iowa both getting the better of the Buckeyes. 2018 could also be in the same category, with Ohio State engineering a nearly flawless season, with the exception of a nightmare Saturday night at Purdue.

Now in 2019, Ohio State has another opportunity to return to the top of the college football world. The Buckeyes navigated an unbeaten regular season, followed by a come-from-behind performance in the Big Ten Championship Game, and doing this with Ryan Day experiencing his first full year as a head coach. Justin Fields has handled the transition from Georgia to Ohio State well, and Chase Young has emerged as the best defensive player in the country; he was the first defensive player to be invited to the Heisman Trophy ceremony since Manti Te’o in 2012. Now the Buckeyes have a chance to avenge the December 2016 Fiesta Bowl loss with another meeting against Clemson. Should they win, Ohio native and onetime Buckeyes quarterback Joe Burrow likely awaits in the national championship game. All signs point to Ohio State continuing their high level of play in the coming decade.

With that comes high expectations. But Ohio State has embraced those in the past, and there’s no reason to believe that will change anytime soon.