The Ohio State Buckeyes have a target on their backs heading into the 2025 college football season after winning the national championship in the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff last season. There have been some notable changes, such as quarterback Will Howard and defensive end Jack Sawyer, no longer on the roster, but there is still a lot of talent.
Repeating as champions is something that is rarely seen in college football, as only the Alabama Crimson Tide (2011-2012) and Georgia Bulldogs (2021-2022) have repeated as national champs since 1996. However, one college football analyst believes the Buckeyes have what is needed to add their name to that list.
RJ Young Believes in Ohio State as National Champions

While on his “Adapt and Respond” podcast, Fox Sports college football analyst RJ Young believes the Ohio State Buckeyes have the ability to win back-to-back national championships.
“Does Ohio State have the roster to get this done? For me, yeah, they do. You’ve got Julian Sayin at quarterback, which is the one thing you need to prove. You have the opportunity to not just win a national championship and join the ranks, be the 15th program to double up, but also you could have another Bitenikoff winner with Jeremiah Smith or Heisman winner and or both, but you could also have the best defender in all of college football with Caleb Downs.”
The team still has a lot of talent on its roster and some of the top players in the nation at key positions. It will be interesting to see how quarterback Julian Sayin looks, but with coach Ryan Day calling the shots the team should be in a position to continue winning games. There will be a lot of excitement and eyeballs on the Ohio State Buckeyes in the 2025 college football season.