Guess what?
In exactly one week from now, Ohio State begins its title defense with one of the most anticipated season openers in recent memory. We’re so, so close to football season, you can almost taste it.
Last year ended in the only way that could be satisfactory, with many seniors returning to Ohio State for one final go around hoisting a national championship trophy. The memories of the confetti falling will live on forever in Columbus, but as everyone knows, that campaign is over and the story of the 2025 Buckeyes begins soon.
As Eleven Warriors’ season preview nears its end, we take a look at the 10 biggest questions surrounding Ohio State entering the season.
Does Julian Sayin deliver elite quarterback play?
Where else would we start, right? There’s all kinds of excitement surrounding Julian Sayin’s potential in Columbus and he’ll be tested right away by making his first career start against the No. 1 team in the country. But regardless of what the result is against the Longhorns, it’s a long season.
Can Sayin live up to his potential as the No. 1 quarterback prospect in the 2024 recruiting class? No other first-year starting quarterback is going to have the pass-catching weapons Ohio State will provide Sayin, with Jeremiah Smith, Carnell Tate, Brandon Inniss and Max Klare all there to make his life easier. If Sayin can play at an above-average level, OSU’s offense shouldn’t miss a beat.
How much do two coordinator changes impact Ohio State?
Exit: Chip Kelly and Jim Knowles.
Enter: Brian Hartline and Matt Patricia.
You wouldn’t expect the offense to look too different considering Ryan Day is still going to have a considerable hand in installing game plans. But still, it will only be the second year Day has given up play calling offensively, so it will be curious to see how Hartline handles being a full-time play caller for the first time.
Patricia is installing a multiple-defensive-front and has no shortage of talented weapons at his disposal to disrupt opposing offenses. Will the Buckeyes get the Patricia that excelled in New England for years, or will his detractors, based on the ill-fated Lions years, be proven correct and he struggles to adapt to the college game?
Does the defensive line have enough capable depth to be a strength?
Positionally, there’s no greater question surrounding the Buckeyes than their defensive line, especially their interior. At defensive end, OSU is optimistic it’ll receive standout production, considering the depth of talented playmakers such as Kenyatta Jackson Jr., Beau Atkinson, C.J. Hicks and Caden Curry. On the inside, there are high expectations for Kayden McDonald and Eddrick Houston, especially if the latter is fully healthy following a minor injury at the beginning of fall camp.
But there’s a question of where the next wave of interior linemen comes from when needed. OSU is going to need players such as Will Smith Jr., Jason Moore, Tywone Malone Jr. and perhaps even a true freshman like Jarquez Carter to step up throughout the season if the defensive line is going to be formidable.
The schedule is arguably more challenging than last year, are there any traps within?
Even the most die-hard Buckeye fans out there know the Texas, Penn State and Michigan games are far from gimmes this year, even if they should be favored in all three. But Ohio State also has two road games against Washington and Illinois, schools that at best could be sleeper College Football Playoff contenders and at worst have the potential to disrupt someone on the right day.
National pundits have given a little more praise to the Big Ten’s middle class this season, but normally the conference’s top dogs don’t falter too often. Will Ohio State be challenged by someone unexpected on its schedule, excluding one of the big three, a la the fight Nebraska gave the Buckeyes a season ago? Or will it be business as usual for OSU on most weeks?
How does the backfield shake out?
There’s no shortage of confidence in what’s projected to be a primarily two-running back tandem of James Peoples and CJ Donaldson inside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. Peoples is considered more of the shifty runner, while Donaldson thrives as a pure power back.
Will the timeshare stay primarily at two backs in competitive contests, or could a third name emerge, similar to how TreVeyon Henderson broke out in 2021? Somebody like freshman Bo Jackson?
Does the offensive line live up to the hype?
Considering various Ohio State offensive linemen stepped up down the stretch for the Buckeyes last season and many of them return for 2025, there’s no shortage of confidence in OSU’s stalwarts up front.
Austin Siereveld’s hype meter is off the charts, considering his Iron Buckeye honors and being named the unquestioned starter at left tackle. Carson Hinzman is a proven commodity at center. Luke Montgomery played well at guard in the final two postseason games in 2024 and should handle the left side this year. And Phillip Daniels has drawn enough rave reviews that he might beat out transfer Ethan Onianwa for the starting right tackle gig.
They’ll be tested right away against Texas’ vaunted pass rush, but the offensive line could be one of the strongest position groups for OSU this season.
Is Big Game James still Big Game James?
There aren’t too many years I can recall that Penn State is the consensus favorite among national media to win the Big Ten.
But this year is the exception to the rule. The Nittany Lions are trying to do what Michigan and Ohio State did before them: Bring back a ton of starters for one final run at a title. They’ve been a popular conference title pick and even a popular national championship choice among analysts.
And yet, Big Game James is still 1-9 against Ohio State and 4-20 against top 10 teams, both numbers he takes a lot of flak for in his fan base. It’s hard to pick the Nittany Lions to beat the Buckeyes until they do it, especially considering this year’s matchup is in Columbus. But based on nothing but pure roster construction alone, if Franklin can’t get the OSU monkey off his back this year, is he ever going to?
Can having the two best players on both sides of the ball make up for losing a breadth of talent from last year?
It’s been said enough, but yet again, Ohio State is breaking in so many new, albeit talented, players this season it’s hard to know quite what it’ll be until we collect enough of a sample size.
But regardless of how many great players it needs to replace, it still has the best player in the sport in Jeremiah Smith and arguably the greatest defensive player in the nation in Caleb Downs. Will the presence of those two future first-round draft picks make the transition seem seamless? OSU is hoping so.
Do the Buckeyes and Ryan Day finally get the monkey off their back?
Don’t have to spend much time on this one.
Day finally proved he could string big wins together last season and win it all, but Buckeye fans would really, really, REALLY like it if the losing streak to Michigan stopped this year.
How close does OSU come to repeating as national champs?
Historically, going back-to-back isn’t an easy task. Although Georgia did it in 2022, no Big Ten team has done it since Michigan State in 1966.
The Buckeyes have far less proven production than they did a year ago, but still have the biggest blue-chip ratio in the country at 89 percent along with Alabama. We’ll see just how quickly the players can all gel together and how deep of a run they can make.
