The Ohio State Buckeyes will take the field on August 30 against the University of Texas as defending national champions in college football. Head coach Ryan Day, whose Buckeyes rebounded from a shocking loss to Michigan in the regular-season finale to run the table through the 12-team College Football Playoff bracket and take the title, now has a chance to pull off the extremely rare accomplishment of winning back-to-back championships.
The biggest question that Day and his staff have to answer is whether the team can bounce back and keep playing at an elite level after losing so much NFL-level talent in the off-season. Jeremiah Smith and Caleb Downs will be back, but the percentage of their starting lineup that will be back is quite small.
The team’s losses include J.T. Tuimoloau, Jack Sawyer, Denzel Burke, Quinshon Judkins, TreVeyon Henderson, Tyleik Williams, Emeka Egbuka, Seth McLaughlin, Josh Simmons, Lathan Ransom, Donovan Jackson – and quarterback Will Howard.
Quarterback Julian Sayin might have more pressure on his shoulders than anyone else. He’s taking over for Howard, and while he has the talent to step in and become a star, the expectations of the Ohio State fan base will be immense. Sayin was actually the last quarterback that Alabama coach Nick Saban signed to an offer, but then he bounced around the transfer portal and ended up in Columbus.
He looks to become the fifth quarterback in the last 20 years to take the field for Ohio State after having been listed as five-star recruits and start in their second college football season. C.J. Stroud, Justin Field, Braxton Miller, and Terrell Pryor all did that in the past, becoming starters in their second seasons.
Ohio State 2025 Football – What to Expect in Every Game
What is the schedule?
- vs Texas Longhorns Saturday, August 30
- vs. Grambling State Tigers Saturday, September 6
- vs Ohio Bobcats Saturday, September 13
- at Washington Huskies Saturday, September 27
- vs Minnesota Golden Gophers Saturday, October 4
- at Illinois Fighting Illini Saturday, October 11
- at Wisconsin Badgers Saturday, October 18
- vs Penn State Nittany Lions Saturday, November 1
- at Purdue Boilermakers Saturday, November 8
- vs UCLA Bruins Saturday, November 15
- vs. Rutgers Scarlet Knights Saturday, November 22
- at Michigan Wolverines Saturday, November 29
- Saturday, December 6 Big Ten Championship
The kickoff times are all TBA at this point; all we know at this writing is the date of each game, the opponent and the site.
Where are the games broadcast?
The Big Ten is in the middle of a seven-year, $7 billion deal with FOX, CBS and NBC to broadcast their games. Also, the Big Ten Network (BTN) picks up games that the broadcast networks opt not to carry.
FOX has emphasized putting some of their marquee Big Ten matchups in the 12:00 pm Eastern time slot, leading to some early kickoffs in some of the more significant Big Ten matchups – a trend that has brought complaints from Ohio State as well as from some of the other top Big Ten schools.
We don’t know yet where you can find specific Ohio State football games on television, but these are the networks where you will find them once the kickoff times and broadcast slots are set. ^
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What can we expect from the Ohio State Buckeyes football team?
Julian Sayin
So can Sayin be an elite quarterback? He was the top-ranked signal-caller in the 2024 class. In both high school and Buckeye practices, he has shown a crisp style with elite accuracy. In game action, though, we don’t know anything about what he can do. He came into four games last year as the school’s third-string quarterback a year ago. He went just 5 of 12 for 84 yards and a score, but he had the offensive backups on the field with him.
It remains to be seen if Sayin will win the starting job. His main competition comes from Tavien St. Clair, a five-star recruit who is a true freshman, and from redshirt sophomore Lincoln Kienholz, a redshirt sophomore. Sayin should ultimately win the contest as he is the only competitor with any game experience from last year. If he does, though, he could become an instant star. He’d be following in the footsteps of another five-star quarterback recruit from California who came and played for Ohio State – C.J. Stroud, who was a Heisman finalist and the Big Ten’s Offensive Player of the Year as a redshirt freshman. Fields had not even started a college game when he left Georgia to go to Ohio State, but by the end of his sophomore season, Fields was a finalist for the Heisman and won Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year when he was a sophomore.
Braxton Miller
Miller also won Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year in his sophomore season; the Buckeyes finished 12-0, and Miller came in fifth in voting for the Heisman Trophy. Pryor guided the Buckeyes to a Big Teh title and a win in the Rose Bowl.
Texas Longhorns
The opener against Texas is a rematch of the CFP semifinal that took place in the Cotton Bowl last year. Ohio State won, but it ultimately took a strip-sack and a scoop-and-score to the house that gave the Buckeyes some breathing room down the stretch. Quinn Ewers has decided to head to the NFL combine, which means that Arch Manning is likely to be the starting quarterback this time around. Both teams will still be sniffing around to see where their own strengths can prevail. Both teams still have tons of talent. Ohio State should win this game; it’s at home, but they won’t crush the Longhorns this time around. Ohio State to win.
Grambling State Tigers
The next game against Grambling is the first meeting between these two venerable schools. However, Grambling is in the FCS, so while they have a grand history, their best days have not come against the likes of the Buckeyes. The Buckeyes will have talent edges at every position on the field, and this should be a time when the Buckeyes can iron out some mistakes that showed up in Week 1 and let the starters do some sitting after the intermission and let the backups get some on-field experience for the reserves. Expect a big margin of victory here. Ohio State to win.
Ohio Bobcats
The team’s third game should be another laugher as they welcome the Bobcats. They’re a quality MAC team most years, but there’s an immense drop in talent between the top of the Big Ten and the top of the MAC as well. This shouldn’t be as much of a laugher as the Grambling game, but once again, I expect the Ohio State starters to get a nice rest after the intermission. Ohio State to win.
Washington Huskies
Big Ten play begins with the Buckeyes’ first road game of the year as they head to Seattle to take on the Huskies. Husky Stadium is one of the tougher road environments in college football, so expect a loud game that could definitely show up in prime time since it’s in the Pacific time zone. Washington is still looking to climb back into the sport’s elite ranks in Jedd Fisch’s second year at the helm, so while the Buckeyes will have to fight to win this, they should win it late. Ohio State to win.
Minnesota Golden Gophers
Coming home from Washington brings the Buckeyes up against the Golden Gophers team that is always well coached. They play complementary football and avoid mistakes. However, the talent level at Minnesota isn’t where it needs to be to come into Ohio Stadium and pull off the upset. Ohio State to win.
Illinois Fighting Illini
A trip to Illinois continues the Buckeyes’ conference schedule. Champaign is a windy city, and Memorial Stadium is a place that has frustrated pass-first offenses, place kickers and punters because of the gusts that blow there. The Illini are a solid football team, and getting in and out will be another fight. Expect both defenses to shine, but expect the Buckeyes to shine just a bit brighter. Ohio State to win.
Wisconsin Badgers
Going to Camp Randall and coming out with a win is always difficult. The Badgers play a grinding style on both sides of the ball. However, these aren’t the days of Barry Alvarez coaching the Badgers to Big Ten titles, and the offensive talent isn’t quite what it was then. The Badgers can pound the ball on the ground, and they can slow down opposing tailbacks, but they don’t have the talent at quarterback or wide receiver to open up the game, and the Buckeyes have the speed on defense to keep the Badgers from mounting long drives. Ohio State to win.
Penn State Nittany Lions
A home date with Penn State is James Franklin’s next chance to show he can win a big game when the chips are down. Yes, the Nittany Lions got by SMU and Boise State in the College Football Playoff, but they lost to Notre Dame by three, ending another season just on the doorstep of greatness. He has veterans and talent on this team, but he just hasn’t shown he can break through. I don’t see that happening at Ohio Stadium. Ohio State to win.
Purdue Boilermakers
A trip to Purdue finally gives Ohio State a chance to take a breath. The Boilermakers are struggling and are entering a new era after sending coach Ryan Walters packing. The Buckeyes will be heading into the stretch run at this point, looking to finish the season strong. Ohio State to win.
UCLA Bruins
UCLA shows up at Ohio Stadium for the first meeting between these two programs as Big Ten opponents. The Bruins finished the 2024 season strong and should be even better this time around. The Bruins don’t quite have the talent yet that Ohio State does, but their offense will be able to get the ball moving. Consider taking the “over” in this game. Ohio State to win.
Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Greg Schiano struggles to coach any team other than the Scarlet Knights, but he does have this team back on the rise again. Can he come into Columbus and deliver what would be a haymaker of an upset? This isn’t a trip to, say, Nebraska. I see Ohio State taking control of the rhythm of this game and grinding out a fairly easy win. Ohio State to win.
Michigan Wolverines
And then there’s that trip to Michigan. Ohio State couldn’t beat the Wolverines at home last year. They did recover from that shocking loss (the Wolverines finished the regular season 7-5, but they did beat Alabama in their bowl game) to win the national championship. Can the Buckeyes go to Ann Arbor and pick up a win? With the monkey of that memory off their back, I think they can. Ohio State to win.
^Now, how far can Ohio State go in the College Football Playoff? That will really depend on how resilient their offense is over the course of the season. An unbeaten season and a Big Ten title will get the Buckeyes a bye to the next round (assuming the CFP stays at a dozen teams), which means neutral-site games all the way to a title. The Buckeyes had a few lucky bounces go their way, particularly against Texas, but unless we see some regression on either side of the ball, it’s hard to count Ohio State out at this point.
^— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) February 11, 2025
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