NFL
By: Owen Tyler
New season, same expectations. For Ohio State, anything short of a national championship will once again feel like a missed opportunity.
The Buckeyes enter the 2026 season trying to put last year’s disappointing ending behind them and make another run at a national title. Ohio State is looking for its second championship in three seasons, but getting there could be much more difficult this time around.
Looking Back at 2025
For most of the 2025 season, Ohio State looked like one of the best teams in the country.
The Buckeyes finished the regular season undefeated and entered the postseason with a chance to win another national championship. Then, things changed quickly.
Ohio State lost 13-10 to Indiana in the Big Ten Championship before falling 24-14 to Miami in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal. Two losses ended what had been an otherwise dominant season and kept the Buckeyes from becoming the first team in program history to win consecutive national championships.
Now Ohio State has to replace a large amount of talent from that team.
11 Buckeyes were selected in the 2026 NFL Draft, while more than 30 players entered the transfer portal. Ohio State responded by bringing in 51 new players, including five-star freshman Chris Henry Jr. and Florida State transfer safety Earl Little Jr., who was a second-team All-ACC selection in 2025.
That is a lot of turnover for any program, even one with the recruiting and resources Ohio State has.
Offense
The good news for the Buckeyes is that two of their biggest stars are back.
Quarterback Julian Sayin and wide receiver Jeremiah Smith give Ohio State one of the most talented quarterback-receiver combinations in the country.
Sayin enters his second season in Columbus after a breakout 2025 campaign. The redshirt freshman completed 77% of his passes, which ranked first nationally and third all time in FBS history for a single season.
That performance was enough to make Sayin a Heisman Trophy finalist, and now the expectations are even higher.
Then there is Smith.
After just two seasons at Ohio State, Smith is already within striking distance of several of the program’s biggest receiving records. He needs 43 receptions, 341 receiving yards and nine receiving touchdowns to pass the current program records in each category.
If Smith stays healthy, it is hard to imagine him not making a serious run at all three.
Ohio State also returns plenty of experience along the offensive line.
Four of last season’s five starters are back in Austin: Siereveld, Luke Montgomery, Carson Hinzman and Phillip Daniels. This will be the most important part of the offense, especially with the schedule Ohio State has ahead.
The offensive line was a major factor in the Buckeyes’ success last season. Sayin was sacked in just five of Ohio State’s 12 games, but the protection broke down when the team needed it most.
In the Buckeyes’ two losses, Sayin was sacked 10 times.
Keeping Sayin upright will be a major priority in 2026.
Defense
If there is one side of the ball that brings the most uncertainty into the season, it is the defense.
Ohio State lost eight starters from last year’s unit, including linebackers Arvell Reese, Sonny Styles and safety Caleb Downs. All three were selected in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Replacing that kind of talent is never simple.
The Buckeyes do have some familiar faces returning. Cornerback Jermaine Mathews Jr., a third-team All-Big Ten selection last season, returns to the secondary. Defensive end Kenyatta Jackson Jr. is also back after finishing second on the team in both sacks and tackles for loss.
And most importantly, Matt Patricia is still calling the shots.
Patricia enters his second season as Ohio State’s defensive coordinator after leading the Buckeyes to the fewest yards and points allowed per game in the country in his first year.
The challenge now is doing it again with a much different group.
Ohio State will have young players and newcomers stepping into major roles, and Patricia will have to find a way to keep the defense playing at the level it reached last season.
New Voices on Offense
Ohio State also has a new offensive coordinator.
The Buckeyes hired former NFL head coach Arthur Smith to fill the position, giving Ryan Day another experienced NFL coach on his staff.
It is a similar approach to what Ohio State did last year when it brought Patricia to Columbus.
Smith has experience as both an NFL head coach and offensive coordinator, and now he gets the opportunity to work with one of the most talented rosters in college football.
His biggest task will be finding the right system for Sayin and Smith while also replacing some of the production Ohio State lost this offseason.
There is plenty of talent to work with. The question is how quickly everything comes together.
The Schedule
The roster changes are one thing. The schedule might be an even bigger problem.
Ohio State will play six teams that finished in the final AP Top 25 poll, meaning there will not be much room for an off week.
The first major challenge comes in Week 2 when the Buckeyes travel to Texas.
The Longhorns have lost to Ohio State in each of the last two seasons and will have plenty of motivation when the Buckeyes come to town. It will also give Ohio State an early look at how this new roster handles a high-level road environment.
Then comes Iowa.
Ohio State travels to Kinnick Stadium less than a month later, returning to a place that has not always been kind to the Buckeyes. The last time Ohio State played in Iowa City, the Hawkeyes dominated in a 55- 24 win on Nov. 4, 2017.
After that, the schedule gets even tougher.
On Oct. 17, Ohio State travels to face reigning national champion Indiana. The Buckeyes then head west to California to play USC before returning home to face Oregon, which reached the College Football Playoff semifinal last season.
And, as always, the regular season ends with THE Game.
Michigan comes to Columbus, giving Ohio State a chance to win its second straight game against the Wolverines and potentially enter the postseason with another signature victory.
Playoff Pressure
The difficult schedule means Ohio State cannot afford many mistakes.
No team in the College Football Playoff era has made the postseason field with three regular-season losses. That puts even more pressure on the Buckeyes, especially with six ranked opponents waiting for them.
Last season, Ohio State did not trail in the second half of a game until the Big Ten Championship.
That type of dominance is going to be difficult to repeat.
Still, there is a reason Ohio State continues to be considered one of the favorites every season under Ryan Day.
The Buckeyes are 82-12 with Day as their head coach and have reached the College Football Playoff in five of his seven seasons.
Those numbers speak for themselves.
The Road Back to the Top
There are plenty of questions surrounding Ohio State heading into 2026, but there is also plenty of talent.
Sayin and Smith give the Buckeyes two players capable of making a run at the Heisman Trophy. Jackson and Mathews bring experience back to a defense that otherwise has a lot of new faces.
The transfers and freshmen will have to contribute quickly, especially with the schedule waiting for them.
That is what makes this Ohio State team so interesting.
The Buckeyes are not starting over. They are trying to reload after losing one of the most talented groups in the country, and they have very little time to figure it out.
Ryan Day has already proven that he can build teams capable of competing for national championships. Now he has to do it again with a roster that looks significantly different from the one that finished last season.
Ohio State has had all offseason to think about how 2025 ended.
An undefeated regular season ended with two straight postseason losses, and the Buckeyes now have another chance to make sure the next season ends differently.
The road to the College Football Playoff will not be easy. The schedule is difficult, the defense has plenty to replace, and there are new players who will be asked to contribute right away.
But the talent is there.
Sayin is back. Smith is back. Ohio State has experienced players returning on both sides of the ball and two former NFL head coaches leading the offense and defense.
For a program with championship expectations, that might be enough.
If Ohio State can get through the regular season and survive the toughest parts of its schedule, the Buckeyes could find themselves back in the College Football Playoff with a chance to finish the job.
And after the way last season ended, there is no shortage of motivation to do exactly that.
