Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day watches during the NCAA football game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Oct. 4, 2025. Ohio State won 42-3. Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Ohio State, Ryan Day have favorable outlook to reach College Football Playoff

Originally posted on Ohio State Buckeyes on SI
By Zain Bando | Last updated Oct 15, 2025 1:40 PM ET

Through the first seven weeks of the college football season, the Ohio State Buckeyes are rolling through their schedule with relative ease. It continued this past Saturday with a trip to Champaign, where they put together a hellacious defensive effort. The Buckeyes wound up scoring 21 points off three turnovers to take down coach Bret Bielema's Illinois Fighting Illini, 34-16.

Not only did the win send Illinois out of the AP Top 25, it reaffirmed the Buckeyes' No. 1 ranking and clinched bowl eligibility at 6-0.

But, Ohio State is thinking more than just a bowl game appearance. It, again, is thinking of a berth in the College Football Playoff, which would give it a chance to repeat and leave no further doubt of coach Ryan Day's place as one of the best college football coaches in America.

Nonetheless, though, the Buckeyes will continue their road swing when they head to Madison, Wisconsin, this Saturday to play a struggling Wisconsin Badgers team still in search of their first conference win. If the spread is any indicator, alongside the fragile job security of coach Luke Fickell, an upset victory for the Badgers may be next-to-impossible, or better yet, simply unrealistic.

If the season were to end today, ESPN's FPI all but guarantees a return trip to the College Football Playoff for Ohio State.

Chances to make the CFB Playoff, per ESPN FPI ️ pic.twitter.com/z8GnvNwL3t
— College Football Report (@CFBRep) October 15, 2025

Leading the pack of teams alive for the College Football Playoff is Ohio State at 95.8 percent.

But, the Buckeyes aren't the only Big Ten team with a chance, as the only other unbeaten team in the league, the No.3-ranked Indiana Hoosiers, sit one spot below the Buckeyes at 92.6 percent.

Other Big Ten teams include the No. 8-ranked Oregon Ducks at 62.8 percent, the USC Trojans at 30 percent, Illinois at 15.6 percent (despite holding a head-to-head tiebreaker over USC), and the Michigan Wolverines at 11.2 percent.

Rounding out the list of Big Ten teams are the No. 25-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers at 7.6 percent, Iowa Hawkeyes at 2.2 percent, and the Northwestern Wildcats and Penn State Nittany Lions, respectively, at .1 percent.

Therefore, as long as the Buckeyes finish 10-2 or better, they should represent the Big Ten as one of the conference's best teams, if not the best team overall.

Below is Ohio State's final six games of the regular season, including this week's game against the Badgers.

Barring any catastrophic upsets, the Buckeyes should be playing for a Big Ten title or College Football Playoff berth by season's end.

This article first appeared on Ohio State Buckeyes on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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