COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Urban Meyer noticed the stat recently and mentioned it to his players this week. Seven players from last year's Ohio State team that went 12-2 and lost in the Orange Bowl were starters in the NFL this season.

"I don't know if that's ever been done before," Meyer said Tuesday. "In the history of college football, I'd like to know if that's ever been done. That tells you how good that team was last year."

The loss of so many talented players from the 2013 team -- including underclassmen Ryan Shazier and Bradley Roby --is a big reason Meyer thought the Buckeyes might need until the 2015 season to compete seriously for a national title. Yet here they are now, playing Oregon on Monday night for the College Football Playoff National Championship presented by AT&T.

And that raises the question: If Ohio State can make it to the brink of a title a year ahead of schedule,then what does the future hold for the Buckeyes? This is, remember, an incredibly young group anchored by freshmen and sophomores, who make up half of the two-deep.

"It is," said redshirt freshman linebacker Darron Lee, who was the Allstate Sugar Bowl defensive MVP. "But I can sit here and tell you that there's other guys you haven't even seen yet that are going to be really, really good football players. Guys from the '14 [recruiting class] especially. You haven't really even seen anything yet."

That's a sobering proposition for the rest of the Big Ten, and the nation at large. Ohio State will lose a handful of valuable seniors, such as defensive tackle Michael Bennett, wide receiver Devin Smith and cornerback Doran Grant. But top draft-eligible juniors Adolphus Washington and Taylor Decker have said they are returning, and the core of this team is made up of first- and second-year guys. Ohio State is churning out star quarterbacks like they're on an assembly line and managed to get this far despite using its third-stringer in two postseason games.

So even though Meyer is 37-3 in three years at Ohio State, this could be just the start of a serious run in Columbus. One Buckeyes player, sophomore H-back Dontre Wilson, already has thrown out the word "dynasty." Freshman defensive back Eli Apple told Cleveland.com that "if we don't win two or more championships, we didn't get our jobs done."

"If everybody buys into the coaches' way like they are doing and people get a little bit more mature and smarter about the game, then, yeah, I could see it happening," safety Tyvis Powell said. "The coaches have a great plan and it works. If everybody just follows the plan, it could be a dynasty."

Saying it and actually accomplishing it are two different matters, of course. Parity has never been greater in college football, and the arrival of the playoff has made winning the national title that much more difficult even as it has increased access to the championship (the Buckeyes would never have been in this position this season, of course, under the old BCS system). Alabama could claim a dynasty after winning three national titles since 2009, but the Crimson Tide got bounced by Ohio State in the semifinal round. Florida State won 27 games in a row before getting crushed by Oregon.

Ohio State's path to the playoff should get more difficult in an improved Big Ten, especially in the East Division where Michigan State still looms, Michigan should grow much more competitive under Jim Harbaugh, and Penn State figures to bounce back. Meyer also had things rolling at Florida and won two titles in three years before burning himself out. He says he's much healthier now, though, and if his relaxed, joking manner at Tuesday's media day news conference in Columbus was any indication, he's not driving himself toward another early retirement.

There's still the not-so-small matter of beating Oregon on Monday at Jerry World, and the Buckeyes are underdogs in that game. But if they can win this title, a year ahead of schedule, then the future could have a decided scarlet and gray tint.

"Being a young team, we can make a statement by winning a national championship and going to next year," redshirt freshman receiver Jalin Marshall said. "We've only just reached the top of the mountain. It's not over yet."