Tracking where Buckeyes land in too-early top-25 rankings

COLUMBUS — Ohio State will enter next season as the reigning national champion. Sure, the Buckeyes have a lot to replace from their championship-winning roster, but the expectations will not change next year — despite all the turnover.

Even Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day knows that, acknowledging the pressure to repeat as national champs next year will be high.

“Try losing the first game and see how that goes at Ohio State. We’ll see about that,” Day said when asked about lower expectations for next season. “I think we have a great group coming back, but I think what these guys have had an opportunity to do — we had 145 guys on the team, and a percentage of those guys were newcomers, freshmen, and also some of the transfers that are coming in. …

“We do have a talented group coming back so we’ll get back and try to figure that out. I don’t know if spring practice is going to look like it usually does. I don’t know if it can for the amount of games these guys have played. But for the young guys we’ve got to get them going, get them indoctrinated into the program and then we’ll ramp up soon.”

Ohio State is still celebrating the national title win while already looking forward to next season. The Aug. 30 date with Texas will be here much sooner than anyone wants to admit.

Folks from around the country are already talking about next season, and Lettermen Row has a full breakdown of the way-too-early top-25 rankings from folks around college football nationally. Let’s dive in.

Andy Staples and Ari Wasserman, On3

Where Andy and Ari have Ohio State: No. 2

Andy and Ari’s top team: Texas

Other Big Ten teams: No. 3 Oregon, No. 4 Penn State, No. 7 Illinois, No. 12 Michigan, No. 23 Indiana and No. 25 Nebraska

What Ari said about the Buckeyes:

The Buckeyes are losing a large portion of their roster to the NFL after this season. Staying, though, are arguably the two best players in the country in receiver Jeremiah Smith and safety Caleb Downs. Even after a quarterback transition, Ohio State will be loaded. 

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ESPN has Buckeyes No. 1

Where ESPN has Ohio State: No. 1

ESPN’s top team: Ohio State

Other Big Ten teams: No. 3 Penn State, No. 6 Oregon, No. 13 Illinois, No. 17 Indiana, No. 21 Michigan

What ESPN said about the Buckeyes:

Despite a multitude of key losses off its 2024 CFP National Championship-winning roster, the still-loaded Buckeyes should start 2025 at No.1 and once again be serious contenders in the highly-competitive Big Ten Conference as well the CFP. Ohio State will likely turn its offense over to former five-star QB Julian Sayin, who redshirted last season after transferring from Alabama. And Sayin will have plenty of options with Judkins, who has yet to announce his future plans, as well as Smith and Tate all potentially back. The Buckeyes defense will take a hit, but OSU has talent waiting in the wings on that side of the ball too.

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FOX Sports’ Joel Klatt has different take…

Where Klatt has Ohio State: No. 3

Klatt’s top team: Penn State

Other Big Ten teams: No. 1 Penn State, No. 5 Oregon, No. 10 Michigan

What Klatt said about the Buckeyes:

“The national champs will look a lot different next year, there’s no doubt,” Klatt said. “But they’re still going to be an elite team, and they’ve still got two players specifically that I think could be the two best players on each side of the ball in the sport. … Hard to take a huge step back when you’ve got the best player in the sport on each side of the ball.”

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CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd likes Ohio State for next season

Where Dodd has Ohio State: No. 4

Dodd’s top team: Texas

Other Big Ten teams: No. 5 Penn State, No. 7 Oregon, No. 15 Illinois, No. 23 Indiana

What Dodd said about the Buckeyes:

There will be a battle, but in all likelihood former five-star Julian Sayin takes over at quarterback in place of the departing Will Howard. He’ll have an NFL-ready Jeremiah Smith to throw to. If you want a referendum on the season, pay attention to the opener — Texas comes to Ohio State in Week 1 for a CFP semifinal rematch as the Buckeyes look to begin a quest for consecutive national titles.

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Sports Illustrated’s too-early top 25…

Where they have Ohio State: No. 2

Their top team: Texas

Other Big Ten teams: No. 3 Penn State, No. 5 Oregon, No. 9 Illinois, No. 19 Michigan, No. 23 Indiana

What they said about the Buckeyes:

The Buckeyes lose an absolute ton of veteran standouts, but having the best offensive player in college football (receiver Jeremiah Smith) and the best defensive player (safety Caleb Downs) is a nice place to start a national title defense. Quarterback Julian Sayin is expected to replace Will Howard, and expected to be a star in his own right. If running back Quinshon Judkins is heading to the NFL, West Virginia transfer CJ Donaldson Jr. could be a key addition. Purdue transfer Max Klare at tight end and Carnell Tate at wideout will complement Smith. Defensive line projects to be an area of concern, but the Buckeyes are never without talent on that unit.

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Yahoo! Sports’ rankings…

Where they have Ohio State: No. 2

Their top team: Georgia

Other Big Ten teams: No. 3 Oregon, No. 4 Penn State, No. 12 Illinois, No. 16 Indiana, No. 24 Iowa, No. 25 Michigan

What they said about the Buckeyes:

The Buckeyes will lose a lot of players to the NFL Draft in the coming days, but Caleb Downs will be back to anchor the defense and Jeremiah Smith will continue to be a star on offense as they try to defend their title next season. Devin Brown has been Will Howard’s backup in 2024 but he’s transferring and former five-star recruit Julian Sayin is waiting in the wings. The Buckeyes also got a transfer portal commitment from West Virginia RB CJ Donaldson and should be active in the spring transfer portal period.

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Stewart Mandel, The Athletic…

Where Mandel has the Buckeyes: No. 6

Mandel’s top team: Penn State

Other Big Ten teams: No. 1 Penn State, No. 8 Oregon, No. 12 Illinois, No. 18 Michigan, No. 20 Indiana

What Mandel said about the Buckeyes:

Ohio State has not won fewer than 11 games in a full season since 2011, so this ranking will seem low. But after going all in with a senior-heavy team this year, coach Ryan Day may return only seven starters. Five-star redshirt freshman Julian Sayin takes his turn as QB1, and it helps knowing he has Smith and Tate. On defense, a lot of young players will be thrown into the fire in the season-opener against Texas.

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