

The Ohio State Buckeyes’ 2024 national championship run has to be one of the best in college football history. After falling twice in the regular season, Will Howard and the Buckeyes strapped up, fixed their mindset, and went out to beat the life out of Tennessee. They took revenge against Oregon, manhandled Texas, and finally took down Notre Dame in the natty. The amount of quality opponents they bullied in their 2024 campaign is downright insane. And if you think the 2024 season was Ryan Day’s best, you couldn’t be more wrong.
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After the Buckeyes’ 34-0 win over the Badgers, Jeremiah Smith had a quick interview with CBS Sports. The host asked him to compare this year’s roster to last year’s national championship team and which one he thought was better. “This year, we want to make a name for ourselves. We want to go down in the history books as a team that did it back-to-back. I feel like this team is better than last year’s team.”
Bold words and digital stray at Will Howard, but fortunately, the numbers are too hard to ignore. Nobody at this point would be surprised if the Buckeyes went out and run it back. This is the most dominated they have looked in the last 3 years.
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“I feel like this team is better than last year’s team.”
Jeremiah Smith on the 2025 Buckeyes, who are looking to win back-to-back national titles pic.twitter.com/AHt0oYhzLQ
— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) October 19, 2025
For example, Ohio State’s defense went into Washington and shut down a Huskies offense that had been averaging over 500+ yards and nearly 55 points per game. Holding them to just six points? That’s beyond dominant.
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Through eight weeks of college football, every major program in the country has struggled in one way or another – except the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Buckeyes are looking literally invincible so far, ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll since Week 2, and are one of only five teams still undefeated. They’re even being called “boringly good” for winning so comfortably. So what makes them so good? Matt Patricia.
The defense is the crown jewel. It’s statistically the best in the country, allowing just 5.9 points and 85.6 rushing yards per game. They’re ending games by halftime and haven’t surrendered a single first-quarter touchdown all year. And offensively, they’re just as scary – averaging 36.4 points and 431.4 yards a game, capable of lighting up 40 on any defense, home or road.
The only real concerns? The offensive line, especially the right side, and special teams, as they’ve missed a few kicks recently. Still, their passing game can make up for their flaws and vice versa. If the Buckeyes clean up those minor issues, it’ll be borderline impossible to beat them.
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Julian Sayin for Heisman trophy?
For the first time this season, the Buckeyes and Ryan Day gave the green light to Julian Sayin to let it rip. And boy, did he bring the house down. The freshman QB threw 36 of 42 passes for 393 yards and 4 touchdowns. That performance indeed turned Heisman voters’ heads. It was a clear sign that the coaching staff now completely trusts their young quarterback.
Earlier in the season, Ohio State had played it safe, leaning on their run game and elite defense to beat Texas in Week 1. But since then, Sayin has continued to earn confidence with his accuracy and decision-making.
Statistically, he’s one of the best quarterbacks in the country right now. He leads all quarterbacks in completion percentage at 78.4%, ranks second in passing efficiency, is tied for seventh in touchdown passes with 15, and is eighth in yards per attempt. What makes Sayin stand out even more is that he’s doing all this as a freshman on the No. 1 team in the country and with zero losses. No other quarterback can boast that.
With Ryan Day and Brian Hartline now trusting him to throw more, Sayin’s stats will only keep getting better. If he keeps this pace, there’s a real chance he becomes the frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy soon.
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