3 keys for Ohio State to get back to a national championship game after a disappointing 2025​

The Buckeyes will look to return to their 2024 postseason form this fall, and they have the roster to do it — if a few things go their way.
.
.
continued
.
.
A second weapon must emerge alongside Jeremiah Smith

Everyone knows Jeremiah Smith is the most talented player in college football. That’s not a secret, and neither is the fact that the team plays its best when opposing defenses can’t devote all their attention to stopping him. With Carnell Tate gone, Ohio State needs someone to step up and become the next dynamic sidekick for Smith.

The candidates are there. Chris Henry Jr., Brock Boyd, Devin McCuinn, and Brandon Inniss all have the opportunity to seize that role. If one of them emerges as a legitimate threat, it opens up the entire offense and makes Smith even more dangerous. Without that complementary piece, I find it hard to believe Ohio State can win it all. Defenses will continue to bracket Smith and force Julian Sayin to find alternative options under pressure.

Arthur Smith must commit to the run game​

This might be the most important offensive adjustment Ohio State can make. Last year, under Brian Hartline, the Buckeyes abandoned the run game in critical moments, and it cost them in losses to Indiana and Miami. Bo Jackson has the potential to be the best running back in the country. But he needs to be given a bigger workload.

With Hartline gone and Arthur Smith now calling plays, there’s reason for optimism. Smith has a well-documented history of leaning into the ground game throughout his coaching career. If he brings that same philosophy to Columbus, Ohio State’s offense should be significantly more balanced.

The ripple effect matters here, too. A stronger run game takes pressure off Sayin, who struggled when opposing defenses sent pressure after him. When teams couldn’t respect the run, Sayin was forced into uncomfortable situations. A commitment to balance fixes that.

Matt Patricia needs to unleash the 2025 recruiting class​

Ohio State lost significant defensive talent to the NFL this offseason, with Sonny Styles, Caleb Downs, Arvell Reese, and Kayden McDonald all getting drafted. The Buckeyes’ ability to reload rather than rebuild will determine whether their defense remains among the best in the country.

The 2025 recruiting class has the names to make it happen. Zion Grady, Riley Pettijohn, T.J. Alford, and Devin Sanchez all have the talent to become the next great Ohio State defender. If Matt Patricia can develop even one of these players into a dominant force at their position, the defense should continue to operate as a top unit in college football.

Winning another national championship in 2026 is absolutely accomplishable. But they’ll need to address these issues to make it happen.

He's going to decide next week if he is going to sign the extension through 2030 or not. I'm hoping so

I think we're younger than last year? I remember a concerted effort to get more experienced. I guess when you lose a ton of experience you get younger. Let's hope these pups all bite!

Brenda Fricker who I always remember playing the role of Mike Meyer's mother in So I married an Axe Murderer

That would actually be really cool

Don't have any problem with the projection, but cannot really see three Buckeyes splitting votes, with one of them being Heisman winner. Most teams bemoan having two players in the running, let alone three. Don't get me wrong, would love to see it, but the law of large numbers kinda implies that won't happen. Especially with last year Heisman finalist, and the 'best player' in college football. That's pretty tall cotton....

Interesting thread. Wondered if Nike was asked to help out on DGG, like 'word has it' that Tennessee asked their sponsor for some bucks for their NIL pot. Or anyone else for that matter. Would make economic sense, and is another income source to consider.

Uh oh. If Beau steps into Currys shoes the Defense is going to be the best in the country, yet again. That'd be dirty and I love it

Thump said:

Legend.

Click to expand...

You know where he was at 6:05 every Saturday night.

Anyone else see that Earl looks like the friend in My Name is Earl?

ScriptOhio said:

Skull Session: Jaylen McClain Names Three Under-the-Radar Buckeyes Entering 2026, Urban Meyer Reflects on the Cost of Ohio State’s 2016 Loss to Penn State

Jaylen McClain names three under-the-radar Buckeyes entering 2026, and Urban Meyer thinks a missed penalty led to Ohio State’s 2016 loss against Penn State.

www.elevenwarriors.com

WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN. Urban Meyer believes one missed penalty changed the course of Ohio State's 2016 season.

In a clip from The Triple Option released this week, Meyer said an uncalled penalty on a late field goal attempt prevented the Buckeyes from tying Penn State — and ultimately cost them a Big Ten championship.

Holding a 21-17 lead with 4:39 remaining in the fourth quarter, Ohio State lined up for a 45-yard field goal on 4th-and-7. Penn State blocked Tyler Durbin's kick, and Nittany Lions cornerback Grant Haley scooped up the live ball and returned it for a touchdown, turning Ohio State's three-point lead into a 24-21 deficit.

The Buckeyes had one final chance to respond, but Penn State's defense forced a 4th-and-23 from Ohio State's own 29-yard line, where the offense failed to convert.

Login to view embedded media
“By rule, you can’t physically pull the field goal protector out of the way of the guy jumping through, and Penn State, the one win they got against us in 2016, they blocked the field goal,” Meyer said. “I turned it in, and I didn’t bitch a lot about it; my fault that we ran the field goal team on late. That cost us the Big Ten championship in ’16, and they later came back and said it could have been, and should have been, a penalty, if I remember right. That’s one that might have been — if they would have thrown that flag, obviously we win.”

Ohio State's loss to Penn State was its only regular-season defeat in 2016 and kept the Buckeyes out of the Big Ten Championship Game. Penn State went on to beat Wisconsin 38-31 for the conference title, but the College Football Playoff selection committee still selected Ohio State over the Nittany Lions for the four-team playoff.

Penn State lost to USC in the Rose Bowl.

Ohio State lost to Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl.

I wonder if those results would have been different if the referees had thrown a piece of yellow laundry 10 years ago at Beaver Stadium.

The world may never know.

Click to expand...

It got us a decade of Big Game James so I can live with it but man oh man would the cult meltdown have been epic.

Massive great white shark spotted off NC coast. See where its headed​

The Atlantic Ocean's largest tagged great white shark in history recently resurfaced off the coast of North Carolina near the Outer Banks, scientists said.

At nearly 14 feet long, the big fish named "Contender" appears to be heading toward Cape Cod and the eastern coast of Canada, according to a OCEARCH, a global non-profit marine research group tracking shark sightings and migration.

Researchers first tagged the massive great white shark on Jan. 17, 2025 off the Florida-Georgia coast, according to online data from the non-profit.

Most recently Contender breached the surface just before 2 p.m. ET on July 10.
.
.
.
continued



Just sayin': Anyone think Contender will pay a visit to Amity Island along the way?

From 11W: THE RIVALRY NEVER SLEEPS. Ohio and Michigan battle over everything — even who can have the most cases of explosive diarrhea.

Login to view embedded media
The rivalry never sleeps.

And neither will you if you get cyclosporiasis.

Darn Tough socks.

That is all.

Login to view embedded media

Depth Chart Outlook​

Fahey is competing for the QB3 spot as a freshman in 2026 with Justyn Martin, a fifth-year quarterback who transferred to Ohio State this offseason. His first chance to compete for the starting job could come in 2027, assuming Julian Sayin enters the 2027 NFL draft.

That said, Fahey will have a challenging path to a future starting job at Ohio State. Current QB2 Tavien St. Clair is the heavy favorite to be Ohio State’s next starting quarterback after Sayin, and given Ryan Day's track record at OSU, there's a good chance that five-star quarterbacks will continue to come to Columbus even after Sayin and St. Clair are gone.

That’s not to say that Fahey lacks the talent to be a big-time quarterback, even though he is a bit undersized at 5-11. That said, Fahey isn't afraid of the competition and how tough it will be to be QB1 for Ohio State. In fact, he has expected it since the moment he committed to the Buckeyes.

“At other schools, I felt like the path to being a starting quarterback was easier. But again, I don't want to be scared of competition when in life you're going to have to compete,” Fahey said. “I know those guys will make me work hard at every aspect while I'm there, if that's on the field, in the weight room, sprints. And again, my goal is to be an NFL quarterback. And when you're around people who are better than you, it only pushes you to be better. It only makes you work that much harder.”

Tomateaux Quinoa Gumbeaux said:

Login to view embedded media

Click to expand...

Just sayin': Pictures of the loser of the match....