Ohio State’s rough 30-18 loss to USC left Ryan Day and the Buckeyes with plenty to sort through, but the recruiting momentum kept rolling Monday.
The latest win came on the 2028 trail, where four-star offensive tackle Lincoln Fa’alafi trimmed his scholarship list to seven schools and included Ohio State among them. The JSerra Catholic standout from San Juan Capistrano, California, is weighing Ohio State against Oklahoma, UCLA, BYU, Notre Dame, Oregon and USC.
That puts the Buckeyes in a crowded race, especially with USC fresh off a convincing win over Ohio State and Fa’alafi having seen that matchup up close last weekend. Still, Ohio State gets its own shot to make an impression this weekend when Oregon comes to Columbus. The atmosphere at Ohio Stadium should be loud, and the Buckeyes will have a heavy recruiting presence on hand as well.
Ohio State’s 2028 class is already off to a strong start with five verbal commitments and the top-ranked group in the 247Sports team rankings. The Buckeyes have not yet landed an offensive lineman in the class, which makes Fa’alafi an obvious priority. He is ranked as the No. 10 offensive tackle in the 247Sports Composite, the No. 92 overall recruit and the No. 5 player from Florida.
The Oregon weekend could also matter on the 2027 board, where Ohio State is still trying to solve its running back situation. Two names expected in Columbus are four-star Alabama commit Nigel Newkirk of Gainesville, Georgia, and four-star Texas State commit Daylon Gordon of Wylie, Texas.
That position has been a frustrating one for Ohio State this cycle. The Buckeyes lost out on five-star David Gabriel Georges, who chose Tennessee over Ohio State, even though he was the program’s top target at running back and arguably its top target overall.
Later, Ohio State turned up the pressure on former Maryland commit Jordan Hall, a move that helped push him to reopen his recruitment. But Hall ultimately committed to Penn State on Oct. 24, leaving Ohio State searching again.
The Buckeyes are still pushing to land a running back before the cycle closes, and both Newkirk and Gordon remain live possibilities. Ohio State had been involved with Newkirk earlier in his recruitment before shifting focus to Gabriel Georges, and while he has not shown signs of wavering from Alabama, a strong visit could at least give the Buckeyes a real shot.
Gordon is a newer target, but Ohio State’s late offer gives the Buckeyes a chance to make a fast move. If the visit goes well, they could become a serious factor there too. Ohio State has already pulled off one late flip in this cycle, and it will be looking for another.
In Other News...
Ohio States CFP Ranking Just Reignited A Frustrating Committee Debate
The first College Football Playoff rankings of 2026 immediately stirred up the same old arguments, with Miami opening at No. 1 and Georgia, Utah, Indiana and Alabama filling out the top five. For Ohio State fans watching the board, the early reveal was a reminder that the committee is once again leaning into a rsum-versus-results debate that never seems to go away, especially when teams with head-to-head advantages are separated or an unbeaten team like UCLA gets pushed behind squads with losses.
Utahs No. 3 spot drew plenty of attention, too, since the Utes have only one ranked win, and committee chair Hunter Yurachek spent part of the explanation cycle defending how the group compares teams across conferences and record profiles. For a Buckeyes audience, the bigger issue is familiar: if the opening rankings already feel inconsistent, the next few weeks are likely to bring even more scrutiny to every movement, every comparison and every decision the committee makes. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Still Has Two Big Lineup Questions Before Oregon
Ohio State came out of its trip to USC with two injury concerns hanging over the week ahead, and both sit in spots that matter a lot for what comes next. Defensive tackle Eddrick Houston and left tackle Ian Moore were hurt in the game, and Ryan Days latest update at least offered some clarity on one front, with Houston expected back soon as the Buckeyes turn their attention to Oregon.
Moore is the bigger unknown, and his status still depends on how he progresses in the days leading up to the matchup. For a team already working through the usual midseason grind, the left tackle spot is one of the most important places to have uncertainty, especially with Oregon on deck and Day continuing to balance injury management, staff decisions, and game prep all at once. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Has A Legit CFP Ranking Complaint After First Bracket
The first College Football Playoff rankings of the 2026 season immediately stirred the usual arguments, with Alabama landing in the top five and Notre Dame showing up lower than in the AP poll. The committees opening bracket also reopened the familiar debate over how much weight should be given to strength of schedule, especially when the rankings seem to diverge from what voters and fans have already been seeing all fall.
For Ohio State, though, the bigger issue was more specific. Committee chairman Hunter Yurachek said the Buckeyes head-to-head win over Indiana was not part of the discussion when the rankings were set, a detail that is hard to ignore for a team trying to measure itself against the rest of the playoff field. In a race where every comparison matters, leaving out a direct result is the kind of thing that can leave a program wondering what exactly the committee values most. [Read more 🡒]