The Ohio State Buckeyes proved that no team on their schedule was better than them, or even in their stratosphere, with a 12-0 run through the 2025 slate that featured one game decided by single digits. The thing is, those 12 teams might not fare any better than the 11 teams besides the Buckeyes in the College Football Playoff.
ESPN's Bill Connelly broke down every contender that has +1500 or lower odds to win the CFP, besides the TAMU Aggies, who, after a 27-17 loss to the Texas Longhorns in Week 14, have lost confidence and inspired questions about their strength of schedule. In the end, he saw no convincing argument for why any of them deserve your futures bet over OSU.
"Over the past few weeks, I've found myself thinking that this CFP might end up being an 'Ohio State vs. the field' situation. Georgia looked spectacular for a couple of weeks in November but shifted into cruise control against Charlotte last week and could never get its offense humming against a weak Georgia Tech defense Friday. Kirby Smart's Dawgs are such brawlers that I would still probably give them the best chance of getting the job done, but there's still reason to wonder about their upside," Connelly wrote.
"Elsewhere, Indiana is, at second in both SP+ and FPI, the computers' pick for giving the Buckeyes the most to handle. And it might help the Hoosiers that they basically get a practice shot at OSU in the Big Ten championship game next week. I'm sure they want to win their first league title since 1967, but if they lose, they might learn lessons they could apply in a CFP rematch."
"Texas Tech has a relentless pass rush and an even better run defense and could put Sayin in increasingly uncomfortable situations. Alabama is 4-1 in one-score finishes in 2025 and, with Saturday night's late fourth-and-2 touchdown against Auburn, has proved it has the boldness that might be required to beat the Buckeyes. Notre Dame has played like a top-three or so team since its two losses that began the year and, after last season's national title game loss, would bring a fun revenge storyline to the table. Oregon is the only team not named Michigan to have beaten the Buckeyes in the past 23 months."
"This isn't a slam dunk by any means. But damn, it is hard to pick anyone but Ohio State as the clear title favorite."
Ohio State could make College Football hopeless by dominating Indiana in Big Ten title game
At this point, the Buckeyes are approaching 2010s Alabama status. With the speed of the Transfer Portal and coaches signing up for new jobs as seamlessly as switching their cell phone carrier, it may feel premature, but it's equally relevant.
Teams in Texas are spending on oil money. Indiana has Mark Cuban. Michigan has Larry Ellison. Oregon has Phil Knight. But coach Ryan Day and GM Mark Pantoni have used the Wexner fortune to build something even better than all of them. Significantly better, at that.
Beating the Hoosiers in the Big Ten Championship Game this weekend, in the fashion they've beaten everyone since a 14-7 slog against the Longhorns in Week 1, would bring a grim, inevitable feeling to the sport that NIL was supposed to get rid of.
Would it be good for College Football? Not to casual fans, but the sport will survive, as it always has.