The Ohio State football team will be trying to defend their national championship in 2025. It's the first time they've had to do that since the 2015 season. In that year, the Buckeyes were also welcoming in a new starting quarterback. The difference that year is that both starting quarterbacks had played before.
This year, none of the three candidates have taken meaningful snaps. All three will be new to getting first-team reps. They have a heck of a first game to prepare for. The new starter will be taking on Texas in the first game of the season in the Shoe.
It will be a rematch of the Cotton Bowl, which saw one of the greatest plays in Ohio State football history. Jack Sawyer sacked Quinn Ewers, forced a fumble, and returned it for a touchdown. Now, the two teams will play again. That first game will tell us all we need to know about these Ohio State Buckeyes.
The first game will tell us what we need to know about this Ohio State football team
Texas is going to be a preseason top-three team. They return a lot of talent from that team that made the College Football Playoff. Ohio State obviously does, too, so it's going to be a top-five or even a top-three matchup to start the year. We're going to learn a lot about the Buckeyes in that game.
If the Buckeyes come out and look great on defense, this team has an excellent shot at repeating as national champions. That side of the ball is where Ohio State lost the most talent. If they are able to shut down Arch Manning right away, that's a really good sign.
The rest of Ohio State's schedule isn't too hard. They do have to play Penn State, but they get them at home. By the time they play Michigan at the end of the year, we should know what this team is. The opener in the Shoe should let us know right away if this Buckeye team is a title contender or if it will be somewhat of a rebuilding year.