College Football

CFB Top 50, #2: 2025 Ohio State Buckeyes

by
Bracket Yard
August 21, 2025

The 2025 Ohio State Buckeyes come in at number two on the CFB Top 50 countdown, on the Thursday before college football.

Being second on the list is not a bad spot for the reigning national champions. Winning a championship is hard, and repeating is harder, but this is a team with a lot going its way. Sure, the NFL poached a lot of its good players, but let’s not pretend that a program like Ohio State can’t regenerate talent on-demand. Most of the elite programs do. Now that the Buckeyes have had another taste of success, there is going to be a lot of drive to get more (at least, they hope there’s no championship hangover in Columbus).

2025 Ohio State Buckeyes Basic Facts

Head Coach: Ryan Day (7th season)

2025 Conference: Big Ten Conference

2024 Record: 14-2 (7-2), 4th in Big Ten

Final Resolution of Last Season: National champions, ranked 1st (AP)

2024 Scoring Offensive Rank: T-12th (35.7)

2024 Scoring Defensive Rank: 1st (12.9)

Ohio State Key Additions and Subtractions

IN – Beau Atkinson, defensive lineman. Transferred from North Carolina.

IN – CJ Donaldson, running back. Transferred from West Virginia.

OUT – Will Howard, quarterback. Drafted by Pittsburgh in 6th round of 2025 Draft.

OUT – Emeka Egbuka, wide receiver. Drafted by Tampa Bay in 1st round of 2025 Draft.

OUT – Donovan Jackson, offensive lineman. Drafted by Minnesota in 1st round of 2025 Draft.

OUT – Tyleik Williams, defensive lineman. Drafted by Detroit in 1st round of 2025 Draft.

OUT – Quinshon Judkins, running back. Drafted by Cleveland in 2nd round of 2025 Draft.

Best Game on the Schedule in 2025

November 1 vs. Penn State. We could have also gone with the Texas game, but that’s in August and this is a conference game in crunch time. They don’t get much bigger than this.

2025 Ohio State Buckeyes: Outlook

As of the middle of August, there was still a quarterback competition underway at Ohio State, which just recently ended. Fans there have seen Julian Sayin before, as he was a backup on the championship team last season. It’s now his team. Lincoln Keinholz was another name in the mix for the top job. Whomever would have been named QB1 would be surrounded by some of the best college football players anywhere, which is far from the worst position for being the new guy leading the team. One of them is Jeremiah Smith, a wide receiver who will probably find himself on some preseason watch lists.

The Buckeye defense helped them win the title last year. It’s going to have to do that again. Caleb Downs, a safety, is a name we have seen on mock drafts in the top ten, so you might want to pay attention to his production this year, and the same goes for linebacker Sonny Styles, who many see as playing on Sundays in 2026.

How about opening at the Shoe against Texas in Week 1? One of the biggest games of the year at the very beginning, which is both exciting and a little disappointing (that it’s not later). There are some good teams on their schedule, like Illinois and Michigan, but circle that Penn State game, because that’s got Big Ten implications written all over it, and then some. Yes, I know you all want to beat Michigan more than (almost) anything, but the last time you lost to them, you won the natty, so remember that.