No you don't need to run the ball to win championships.
Alabama didn't win it last year so not best example.
Clemson won it with QBs WRs and defense twice.
LSU won it with QB and WRs.
Alabama won with passing offense in 2020 throwing for 464 in the title game and scoring 52 points, and Jones had 5 passing TD's.
Now if you can run it great, but it's going to be a major uphill climb if you can't be elite in passing game to win a NC. UGA had an elite elite front 7, and it took Alabama's 2 best WRs getting hurt so they could finally win one.
Mario is who he is. That's why I never bought the Joe Brady hype as OC here.
His style and Mario's style clashed imo.
I'm not sure why people thought Mario would change who he is.
Now as he settles into his Miami coaching career, and sees you can't necessarily pound your way to a title, he may be forced to make some style changes.