All you national championship coaches please sound off.  what do you say is the best plan of success to follow for us guys who are chasing the ever elusive national title?

well, i aint won a NT but....RECRUIT RECRUIT RECRUIT!!!

In no particular order: Gameplanning in the NT; luck; an experienced team (so use the redshirt generously); recruiting for your defensive set... all of the obvious stuff.

The best way to get an NT is to recruit the best players and win a lot of games.  But even when stating the obvious, it's important to remember - there's a decent amount of luck involved*.

*Whether in the form of the RNG or in the form of gameplanning against an opp who's also gameplanning - this second kind of luck is underemphasized here on the forums, but it's often a cross between rock-paper-scissors and chicken.

I've won 4 NTs over all my IDs, and made the S16 around 20 times.

In my opinion, after you get to the elite 8 (or maybe even the S16), all the teams are good enough that the RNG outweighs anything you can do gameplanning.

In terms of getting to that point, it's almost all recruiting, although I agree with cornfused that experience (IQ) is a big factor.  

So, my best advice is to recruit a great class or two, and then wait until they are seniors.

i disagree with this luck luck luck nonsense. there is skill involved. simply put you need to be a great recruiter and a great gameplanner. i see a lot of coaches who recruit very well but don't know squat about gameplanning and good gameplanners who don't know how to recruit. i mean there is a lot to it. the silly notion of getting good recruits and leaving it up to fairy dust luck is bogus.

if you are a great team and you lose to a perceived lesser opponent its probably not luck that beat you, and more likely a better gameplan.