Butterfly Effect: What if Joe Burrow never transferred from Ohio State to LSU?

Joe Burrow transferring from Ohio State to LSU changed the history of college football. But what would the history books tell if he never transferred?

Joe Burrow was the story of the 2019 college football season after winning the Heisman Trophy and leading the LSU Tigers to an undefeated national championship. Burrow had the best season any college football quarterback ever had after throwing a record 60 touchdowns. But imagine how different college football would have been last season if Burrow never transferred from Ohio State.

Playing the what-if game is one of the favorite exercises of sports fans. This won’t change anything. This is just a fun hypothetical to look at the butterfly effect had Burrow backed up Dwayne Haskins at Ohio State in 2018 and remained with the Buckeyes.

This has wide-ranging effects that aren’t just limited to Ohio State and LSU.

Burrow staying at Ohio State has ripple effects that would be felt at Michigan, Penn State, Georgia, Alabama, Auburn, Clemson and Cincinnati where the Bengals may have to look elsewhere when it comes to who to pick first overall in the 2020 NFL Draft.

First, let’s look at what would have happened at LSU if Burrow never picked Ed Orgeron and the Tigers.