It's officially time to flush the rough ending to the 2025 season and move forward to 2026 for Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes. On paper, Ohio State is built to not only push for the Big Ten title next season, but also make a move to win it all.
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Early on, however, ESPN's Bill Connelly, a respected college writer, doesn't quite see things going so smoothly for Day and Co. In his picks for next season, Connelly already has Indiana winning the Big Ten title. On top of that, he has Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame winning it all. What about the Buckeyes?
Ohio State's chase for the national title next season begins now
"We'll start with the conference that has produced the past three national champions," Connelly wrote in his piece. "Ohio State won the national title in 2024 and spent most of 2025 at No. 1, but the Buckeyes incredibly haven't won a conference title since 2020 (when they won their fourth in a row). Michigan managed to get its nose in front and win three straight (2021-23), and while the Wolverines faltered in 2024, they still kept Ohio State out of the title game with a late-season upset. And in 2025, it was Indiana's turn to surpass college football's most consistently strong program."
Yup, for the Big Ten title, he indeed has Indiana winning it again, and Ohio State will finish the year with the No. 7 seed for the College Football Playoff. That would be unfamiliar territory for the Buckeyes if ESPN's prediction here comes true.
To make things a little worse for everyone excited for the 2026 season, Connelly has Ohio State losing in the first round to Texas, which would be a nightmare for Day and his players. The Ohio State faithful can only hope that Connelley is way off with his prediction.
Looking ahead to next fall, Julian Sayin, Jeremiah Smith and other key returners can't wait to take the field and wipe away the rough memories from the losses to Indiana and Miami to close out the '25 campaign. People can't wait to see what 5-star freshman Chris Henry Jr. will be able to get done too. All signs are pointing to Ohio State having a year to remember, but watching Indiana win the conference title and losing to Arch Manning and Texas in the CFP first round would be a nightmare.