Phil Steele believes Ohio State can handle tough 2023 schedule

Another year, another season of national championship aspirations abound in Columbus. And despite a gauntlet of a schedule, Phil Steele thinks Ohio State is still in plenty good shape to be back in contention for the biggest prize in the sport.

The Buckeyes open the season on the road with a conference opponent, Indiana, and also have games against Penn State, at Wisconsin, at Notre Dame and at Michigan. Though Ohio State has tripped up slightly the past two seasons, Steele thinks they’re still on course to playing for a College Football Playoff spot again.

“Ohio State was 11-0 but [Ryan] Day fell to 1-2 vs. [Jim] Harbaugh losing by 22. They backed into the playoff when USC lost to Utah and then outplayed Georgia, leading almost the entire game but came up a missed FG short in a 42-41 loss. They finished 11-2 and No. 4. They were +156 ypg in Big Ten play and have 14 returning starters with five units ranked in my Top 8. They do face both Notre Dame and Michigan on the road. They come up No. 2 in my Power Poll and did outplay the defending champ in the playoffs so they are once again a legitimate National Title contender and are capable of handling that tough road schedule,” Steele wrote in his 2023 preview magazine.

Steele also noted that while going 11-2 and pushing the Bulldogs to the limit, Ohio State played without star wideout Jaxon Smith-Njigba and running back TreVeyon Henderson for large portions of the season.

“Last year the Buckeyes were coming off their first two-loss season since 2017 but were a prime contender for their first National Title since 2014 led by three Heisman Trophy candidates, but two of them were injured,” he wrote.

And despite stumbling to the likes of Michigan and Oregon, Steele is confident that an Ohio State squad that makes the playoff more often than not under Day will be right back.

In three of his four seasons at the helm or Ohio State, the Buckeyes have been in the CFP. In 2020, they advanced to the National Championship. Even last season, with a loss to Michigan, Ohio State was in the field.

With as much talent as ever in Columbus, Steele isn’t going to be betting against the Buckeyes as contenders again in 2023. For whatever holes or shortcomings there might be, Ohio State keeps winning double-digit games and keeps on living in the conversation for the College Football Playoff, even if there might be some hurdles to clear.

“In 2019 Ryan Day was the first Big Ten Coach of the Year at Ohio State since Earle Bruce in 1979! In ’20 they got to the National Title game but Alabama rolled them 52-24. In ’21 they lost five DC’s on both sides of the ball. They struggled at Minnesota then were whipped at home by Oregon in week two. They led Tulsa by seven late in [the fourth quarter] but won by 21 in front of 76,000, the smallest crowd at The Horseshoe since 1971. OSU then beat the next three by 46.6 ppg. Their offense struggled vs. Penn State and Nebraska but they blew out Purdue and demolished No. 7 Michigan State, 56-7. Michigan dominated them costing them a shot at the playoff. They trailed Utah 35-21 at half in The Rose Bowl, but rallied to win 48-45.”