College football’s playoff committee has become a yearly source of debate, and Ohio State may be headed straight into that conversation again.
The Buckeyes are trying to build on the momentum of winning the first expanded College Football Playoff after taking the inaugural CFP national championship a decade earlier. But one analyst thinks the path in front of them could make things complicated long before any bracket is set.
Bill Bender of The Sporting News laid out that concern last week on The Bobby Carpenter Show, pointing to a schedule that could leave Ohio State with very little margin for error.
“Well, I think we’re going to continue to see an imbalanced schedule … You know, there will be years where Ohio State misses these [elite] teams, that, you know, it’s just a perfect storm on their schedule this year.”
He added: “I haven’t seen a schedule this difficult … I’m not saying they’re going 9-3, but if they were 9-3 with that schedule, much like Texas was last year, I think they would have a very legitimate argument to get in the playoff.”
And it’s easy to see why the schedule has people talking. Ohio State has road games at Texas and Indiana, plus Big Ten matchups with Oregon, USC, and Iowa. Then there’s the Michigan game, which always brings its own chaos.
That kind of slate could turn the Buckeyes into one of the most tested teams in the country. If they survive it cleanly, they’d enter the College Football Playoff looking like the team everyone else has to chase.
For now, ESPN’s College Football FPI has Ohio State at No. 1.
But the numbers also show how steep the climb is: the Buckeyes have just a 9.2% chance to finish the regular season unbeaten. ESPN’s model actually gives them a better shot at winning the national championship, 17.1%, than going through the regular season perfect.
So the road is clear, if not exactly forgiving. Ohio State has a chance to put together the kind of season that fuels a dynasty - but only if it can handle one of the toughest schedules in the sport.
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Even if that happens, the next step is its own challenge. Jagusah would still need time to rebuild game shape, sharpen his technique and get comfortable again in Notre Dames offensive system, which is why any talk of an immediate impact in 2026 comes with obvious caution. For the Irish, the hope is less about a quick fix than about finally getting a long-delayed answer on a player whose ceiling has always been easy to imagine but much harder to reach. [Read more 🡒]