Top 25 in 25: Ohio State Football Season Preview

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We’re counting down the final 25 days before the college football season by previewing every one of our preseason top 25 teams! With 3 days left until week zero, we continue our previews with my No. 3 team in the country – the Ohio State Buckeyes.

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Projected Record: 10-2 (8-1)

Ceiling/Floor: 12-0/9-3

Projected Wins: Grambling, Ohio, Washington, Minnesota, Illinois, Wisconsin, Penn State, Purdue, UCLA, Rutgers

Projected Losses: Texas, Michigan

Most Intriguing Game: Texas (Week 1)

The defending national champs lost a lot from a year ago, but re-loaded with talent through portal editions and elite recruiting classes. Ryan Day will look to lead his squad to back-to-back national titles, which only one other team (Georgia, 2021-22) has done in the playoff era. If the Buckeyes can do so, Day will have flipped the narrative from being on the hot seat to maybe the best coach in the sport in a little over a year’s time.

In order for the repeat to happen, they’re going to have to find an answer in the quarterback room between Julian Sayin and Lincoln Kienholz. Both have massive potential but have taken minimal snaps at the collegiate level, so there’s no guarantee that it’ll click. Whoever will be out there though, it’ll certainly help to have the best receiver in America to throw the ball to in Jeremiah Smith. Smith had an all-time freshman season a year ago but was flat-out unstoppable in the playoff, being one of the main reasons they won the title. The run game may take a hit early in the season with the loss of running backs TreVeyon Henderson and Quinson Judkins, but with the elite talent they have on the offensive line and young talent in the running back room, it should still be top 10 in the country.

It’s a lot of the same on the other side of the ball for the Buckeyes. Only three starters are back, but there’s plenty of great, young talent ready to make an impact. The biggest change on defense may be the change in coordinator, though. With Jim Knowles decision to go to Penn State, OSU brought in Matt Patricia to call plays this season. Besides the change in system, there are some questions on all three levels of the defense, but they have maybe the best defensive player in the country in safety Caleb Downs to help control things on the back-end.

The Buckeyes have so much talent around the QB position on both sides of the ball, that I think the difference between 9-3 and 12-0 will be the level of play from whichever signal caller is out there. I believe that will also determine who wins the colossal week one game against Texas. If Sayin or Kienholz can hit the ground running from the start, I think the Buckeyes defend home turf in the shoe, but if there are some struggles out of the gate, I think the Longhorns take home the victory.

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