Ohio State’s road back to the National Championship is already looking rugged, and that was before the Buckeyes even got deep into conference play.
The season opened with a serious gut check in Texas. Ohio State went on the road for a second straight year to face the Longhorns and carried a 20-point lead into the fourth quarter, only to watch it slip away in a loss that landed early and hard for what was then the No. 1 team in the country.
Now the challenge only gets steeper.
Maryland comes next, and that matchup could serve as a breather before the real grind begins. After that, the Buckeyes step into what could be three straight top-25 showdowns.
It starts with Indiana in a Big Ten Championship rematch. The Hoosiers are one of three Big Ten teams still unbeaten, and they sit just outside the top five in the AP Poll after riding the wave of an undefeated season and their first National Championship in program history.
Ohio State then gets its bye week before heading to California to face USC. Under head coach Lincoln Riley, the Trojans are one of the Big Ten’s newer members and remain a difficult draw for any opponent.
The next week brings another heavyweight back in Columbus, with Oregon coming to The Shoe. Since joining the Big Ten in 2024, the Ducks have already been part of some memorable games with Ohio State, including the Rose Bowl in 2024, when the Buckeyes went on to win the National Championship.
The final stretch is no softer: Northwestern, Nebraska, and then Michigan in The Game.
If Ohio State runs the table, the Buckeyes will be in the Big Ten Championship Game and in position to chase one of the four byes in the College Football Playoffs. That said, a bye might not be the cleanest route for this team. Ohio State earned the No. 2 seed last year and had a bye, but that path did not seem to suit them nearly as well as 2024, when they hosted Tennessee in the first round, won comfortably, and carried that momentum all the way to the title.
With one loss already on the board, Ohio State likely can’t afford much more damage and still keep its playoff hopes in strong shape.
The path back to another National Championship is anything but simple. But for this Buckeyes team, it’s still there.
In Other News...
Former Ohio State Coach Brian Hartline Just Took A Brutal First Step Back
Brian Hartlines first months at South Florida had gone smoothly enough, with the former Ohio State offensive coordinator off to a 4-1 start before a stumble at UTSA snapped the momentum. The trip also came with a side note that got plenty of attention, after Hartline made comments about the noise inside the opponents stadium and then had those remarks revisited in a very public way once the game was over.
From Ohio States perspective, Hartlines next chapter is still part of the larger coaching tree story, but the Buckeyes have their own issues to sort out as the schedule rolls on. The offense has had trouble getting the rushing game where it needs to be, and while Hartline is now trying to settle in as a head coach, his rough first step back served as another reminder that the margins get small fast once conference and nonconference tests start to pile up. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio States Elite Passing Game Is Hiding A Bigger Running Back Issue
Ohio States passing game has been humming along at a level few teams in the country can match, but the ground game is carrying a very different kind of conversation. The Buckeyes sit 81st in rushing yards per attempt, a ranking that stands out for a team with this much offensive firepower and one that has had to lean on a rotating backfield rather than finding a clear weekly answer.
The workload has bounced among Ja'Kobi Jackson, Bo Jackson and Isaiah West, with true freshman Legend Bey also part of the early mix. Beys limited role has drawn attention because of questions around why his touches have thinned out, and while there has been speculation about professionalism concerns, nothing has been officially confirmed. For a team built to pressure defenses in every way, the bigger issue may be less about who is getting the carries and more about whether Ohio State has settled on the right one. [Read more 🡒]
Maryland Brings Coaching Drama And A Defense Ohio State Can Exploit
Maryland arrives with plenty of noise around the program, and not much of it has anything to do with what happens between the lines. The uncertainty around Mike Locksleys future has hung over the Terps for a while now, with the athletic director potentially waiting until after the bye week to make a call, and that backdrop only adds to the sense that Ohio State is catching Maryland at a tense moment. At the same time, the offensive side has slipped, with Malik Washingtons play trending down and the Terps searching for steadier footing.
There is still enough on the defensive front to make Maryland worth studying, especially along the line, where a few key pieces can flash and disrupt a game if the rest of the unit holds together. The problem, as Michael Howes pointed out, is that the tackling has not been dependable enough, and those misses have repeatedly undercut the defense. For Ohio State, that creates a familiar sort of opportunity, one that starts with pressure up front and can quickly turn into a longer afternoon for a defense already carrying too much uncertainty. [Read more 🡒]