Through Aug. 22, Sports Illustrated will count down its preseason college football Top 25 with overviews of each team. Here are the full rankings so far.
Late last season, it looked as though Ohio State was going to follow up five years of coming close to a national title with an effort alongside the 2015 Buckeyes—a team talented enough to win it all but a serial underachiever.
Ohio State looked lost late during a loss to Oregon and then committed the deadliest sin of all around Columbus, Ohio, in losing to Michigan, which could barely complete a forward pass. When the “M” flag was planted at midfield, it might as well have been a stake driven right through one of the most expensive rosters ever assembled in the sport. If you need proof, consider the pregame scene of the team’s first-round game in the College Football Playoff and note how many Ohio State fans sold their tickets to anybody wearing the orange and white of Tennessee.
Luckily for Day and the Buckeyes, the new CFP format offered a grand do-over and a shot at redemption. The roster stacked with NFL talent finally played free. The Buckeyes thrashed the Vols, then the Ducks in Pasadena and finally survived an ice storm and SEC runner-up Texas to make it to the national title game. Against Notre Dame, a familiar Midwestern foe, Ohio State took care of business early and often to let the confetti rain on one of the most cathartic championships of all time.
Now it’s time to tackle the same goal despite a massive reboot in 2025. There’s the departure of both coordinators, a near-record 14 NFL draft picks gone, starting over in the backfield plus needing a host of new faces to step up if the team wants to remain in contention in the conference (much less return to the CFP this December).
The good news for a much more relaxed head coach Ryan Day is that for all the unknown about the Buckeyes this season, he’s got the benefit of having the best offensive player in the country (Jeremiah Smith) and the best defensive player (Caleb Downs). That’s not a bad starting point to defend a national title before you even start to factor in the stacks of four- and five-star talent still on the roster.
Will Ohio State be the team to beat again this season? Probably not given what some of its peers return in terms of starters and total production. But that doesn’t mean the Buckeyes won’t be a threat to go back-to-back based on how we’ve seen them live up to their lofty talent come playoff time.
Fast Facts
2024 record: 14–2, 7–2 Big Ten
Offense: 35.7 ppg (12th in FBS), 6.95 yards per play (third)
Defense: 12.9 ppg (first in FBS), 4.19 yards per play (first)
On the Headset
Ryan Day, entering Year 7 in Columbus, 70–10 overall record
Day has been walking around this offseason looking like Andy Dufresne in Zihuatanejo after winning a national title and getting critics off his back. He’s gone on talk shows flashing a wide-brimmed grin and has probably been the guest of honor at too many dinners to count ever since hoisting the golden trophy in Atlanta.
It’s still objectively hilarious to see Day’s overall winning percentage of 88% or chuckle at losing only five times in league play across six seasons, but the ex–New Hampshire quarterback has proven himself to be among the best three or four coaches in the game. Day, just 46 this season, seems like he’s still entering the prime of his career and only the relentless demands of being a modern college football coach are what could stop him from making a run at Woody Hayes’s career victory total.
At this point, there’s just one issue: Day’s record against the school up North. Otherwise, Ohio State fans should probably be praising their head coach a lot more than they have been.
Key Returning Starter
WR Jeremiah Smith, So.
It probably will be only a few weeks into this season when talk shows will start discussing if Smith should start sitting out in anticipation of his NFL career and whether or not he should pull a Maurice Clarett and start challenging the draft rules. You should ignore all that chatter and instead focus on what Smith can do for a sophomore encore after going beast mode on opponents with 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns as one of the best freshmen receivers ever. He’ll be counted on to carry the offense with a new quarterback around and should constantly draw enough double teams to free up Max Klare and Carnell Tate to have monster years, too.
Key Transfer
DE Beau Atkinson, from North Carolina
It was a nice coup to lure the Raleigh native away from Bill Belichick and the Tar Heels in the spring portal window after he was one of the more productive edge rushers in the ACC. He notched 11 sacks and 16 TFLs over the last two years and provides some size and strength up front in addition to his ability to pressure the QB. With a new defense in terms of both personnel and scheme under Matt Patricia, Atkinson could turn himself into a first-rounder.
Key Departure
DE Jack Sawyer, fourth-round NFL draft pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers
Sawyer was the heart and soul of the Buckeyes as one of Day’s first recruits and a local kid to boot. He was a menace down the stretch on the field getting after opponents, but it’s his leadership off the field that will be really tough to replace in 2025.
Circle the Dates
- Aug. 30, vs. Texas
- Oct. 11, at Illinois
- Nov. 1, vs. Penn State
- Nov. 29, at Michigan
Bottom Line
With a manageable schedule beyond the two bookends (against No. 1 Texas in the opener and at Michigan to end the season) and Penn State coming to the Horseshoe, Ohio State has a chance to remain one of the favorites to get to Indianapolis for the Big Ten title game and make another run in the CFP. There are more new faces in starting positions, but when you have Downs covering up mistakes on defense and Smith snagging jump balls, life tends to work itself out.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Sports Illustrated’s College Football Preseason Top 25: No. 4 Ohio State.
