Ohio State Buckeyes Receive Exciting Outlook For 2025 CFB Season

With the 2025 college football season on the horizon, Ohio State Buckeye fans are eager to see the program defend their National Championship title.

The Sporting News' Bill Bender recently did his 2025 College Football Playoffs and bowl predictions, with the Buckeyes making a deep playoff run in the upcoming season.

Bender's prediction begins with head coach Ryan Day and Ohio State earning the No. 2 seed in the 2025 CFP, with their first contest being against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the Rose Bowl. This would become the second-straight appearance in the highly-acclaimed bowl game for the Buckeyes, as the program defeated the Oregon Ducks, 41-21.

Similar to last season, Bender has the Buckeyes beating head coach Kalen DeBoer and Alabama to advance to the semifinals against the No. 3-seed Georgia Bulldogs in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl.

"The Buckeyes, Longhorns, Bulldogs and Nittany Lions all find their way to this round," Bender wrote. "There will be more chalk in the semifinal round this year – and these could easily be the four participants in the Big Ten and SEC championship games this season. That is why those games will matter. We could see any combination of these four teams playing each other in the CFP championship game."

If the prediction comes true, this would be Ohio State's first rematch against head coach Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs since the program's heartbreaking semifinal loss during the 2022-23 CFP. The contest came down to the wire, as the Buckeyes had a chance to win in the final seconds off a field goal, but unfortunately fell short, 42-41.

Luckily for fans, Bender's prediction offers a different outcome for the Buckeyes, as he has program making it back in the championship, this time as a week one rematch against the Texas Longhorns.

"Would a rematch from Week 1 be possible? Ohio State has the fourth-hardest schedule in the Big Ten with matchups against Penn State, Illinois and Michigan," Bender wrote. In our scenario, the Buckeyes would be on their third straight SEC team in the playoff at this point."