The Ohio State Buckeyes' downfall in 2025 was supposed to be their lack of returning production. 13 starters are gone from a College Football Playoff National Championship roster. Typically, that means a step back on the field.
OSU isn't a typical program, though. The Buckeyes have come back with an offensive line that still looks elite after losing a starting guard and tackle, a redshirt quarterback who is playing like a Heisman candidate, and a defensive unit that's No. 1 in scoring and red zone defense.
What were supposed to be question marks are strengths. Ryan Day and Mark Pantoni, take a bow.
Cleveland.com's Stefan Krajisnik pointed out how OSU's supposed downfall, a lack of returning production, has turned into a strength -- and that teams like the Clemson Tigers, Arizona State Sun Devils, Alabama Crimson Tide, and Illinois Fighting Illini that were supposed to benefit from minimal turnover at the top of the depth chart have already suffered key losses.
"The Buckeyes lost 14 players to the 2025 NFL Draft, and another two starters left due to exhausted eligibility. However, Ohio State owns a recent history of strong recruiting to suggest another strong roster would replace the previous one," Krajisnik wrote.
"But one statistic surfaced, as it often does in the offseason, and generated some questions about the Buckeyes: returning production.
"Pundits fixated on the familiar. It led to hype around teams such as Clemson, Arizona State, Alabama and Illinois.
"Yet less than a month into the season, returning production has been forgotten. Newness has become a foreign term as many of the current national title favorites entered 2025 ranking low in returning production, highlighted by the top-ranked team, Ohio State."
Ohio State not only lost several starters, they lost defensive coordinator Jim Knowles and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly. Day has appropriately empowered Brian Hartline and Matt Patricia to lead their groups without much intervention, though. Hence the spectacular results.
In the NIL era, contenders are built overnight through the transfer portal. Exhibit A: Sonny Dykes' 2022/2023 TCU Horned Frogs.
OSU brought back enough of the stacked recruiting classes of the past two years, and has groomed them to be producers, to remain one of the nation's best teams and the odds-on favorite to win it all again.
The Buckeyes have broken narratives this season. So have the Clemson Tigers, Sun Devils, Crimson Tide, and Fighting Illini.
Only OSU appreciates that fact.