The laurels of the past do not mean much in college football. Even when that ‘past’ happened just a year ago. We already saw that with the Wolverines in 2024. The defending champions couldn’t even make it to the playoffs. A key reason was the players they lost from their natty-winning roster. A similar fate may await Ryan Day, even though he’s returning the stars of his offense in Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate. No one doubts their WR room. The running backs? That’s a different scenario altogether.

While the receiving corps received their plaudits in 2024, another success story of the Buckeyes’ offense was their backfield. The running backs, Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson, notched up 2,521 all-purpose yards together. However, this year, finding those 2,521 yards from players like James Peoples and CJ Donaldson would be a tall hill to climb, as per Bruce Feldman of The Athletic.

“They also lost two elite running backs. I think that’s going to be a drop-off for them. I don’t think James Peoples is of that caliber as what you had with Quinshon Judkins and certainly TreVeyon Henderson. Those guys were terrific as pass protectors. They were really versatile, but I think they were a cut above what Ohio State’s going to have in the run game this year,” said Bruce Feldman on the ‘Bear Bets’ podcast.

Ryan Day returns with James People as his first-choice running back, who rushed for 197 yards and was featured mostly in games against weaker opponents like Purdue and Marshall. Apart from him, Day has surely brought CJ Donaldson from West Virginia, who rushed for 734 yards in 2024 and another 798 yards in 2023. However, his transition to a conference like the Big 10 is in doubt. Add to that the issue of Brian Hartline calling the offense for the first time.

According to Bruce Feldman, Hartline is still an “unproven play caller” at Ohio State, as the last time he was the OC, it was just on paper, while Ryan Day took the responsibility of calling the plays. “Again, really an unproven play caller at Ohio State in the OC. I know Brian Hartline had the OC title, you know, a couple of years ago, but now he’s more involved in it. And also, they lost Chip Kelly,” said Feldman. Not just that, all of these problems combined could ensure Texas’s win in the opening game in Columbus.

Unlike OSU, Texas is bringing back its top running back, Quintrevion Wisner, who racked up 1,064 rushing yards last season. They also have CJ Baxter returning after a nice 659-yard performance. Plus, there’s some consistency in the quarterback spot, unlike what Ryan Day has with Julian Sayin. Arch Manning started two games last year and passed for over 900 yards. On the defensive side, they’re bringing back players like Anthony Hill Jr. and Michael Taaffe. Even in their semi-final matchup last year, the Longhorns’ defense held its own against a Buckeyes’ offense that was dismantling teams left, right, and center.

Another analyst predicts Ryan Day’s Ohio State to fail against Texas

Julian Sayin came as a consensus 5-star recruit in the 2024 class. However, collegiate snaps have been scarce for him, unlike Arch Manning. But if his high school career, where he threw for 9,100 yards for 104 touchdowns, is a reference, all might be well for the new QB1 after all. Despite that, Chris Fallica sat with David Pollack and proclaimed Texas’s defense to be the game-changer in Columbus in Week 1.

“I think that the Texas defense could be the best individual unit in the country, and I can’t wait to get to Columbus next week for that game. I think that’s going to be a low-scoring, defense-dominating game, 14–9 in the late third quarter,” said Fallica, and even pointed to concerns in the O-line. “With Julian Sayin…it’s a completely different offense, completely different quarterback than what we saw last year, and with a first-time play caller in Hartline who says he can spin it. But can they protect him?”

The O-line for Ryan Day this year was always going to be a thing of immense optimism, courtesy of many prominent names returning and transfers like Ethan Onianwa and Phillip Daniels coming in. However, fall camp reports point towards a disconnect in the running game, as the players failed to open running lanes. Apart from that, the competition at right tackle between Onianwa and Daniels is another cause of concern, highlighting the scarcity of time. All in all, despite the momentum, Ryan Day may not have his way against Steve Sarkisian in Week 1.