Ohio State left in dubious position in Josh Pate’s Big 10 Conference Championship prediction
The Ohio State Buckeyes are the third-ranked team in the country entering Week 1 action against the Texas Longhorns. Despite being seen as one of the top title contenders and the nation’s elite programs once again, is it possible they won’t make the Big 10 title game for the fifth-straight year? The Buckeyes haven’t made […]
The Ohio State Buckeyes are the third-ranked team in the country entering Week 1 action against the Texas Longhorns. Despite being seen as one of the top title contenders and the nation’s elite programs once again, is it possible they won’t make the Big 10 title game for the fifth-straight year? The Buckeyes haven’t made it to Indianapolis since 2020, ending a streak of four-straight championships.
On3 College Football Analyst Josh Pate believes the Buckeyes’ cold streak will continue in 2025. His latest Power Four conference champions projections does not feature Ohio State even playing in the game. Instead, it’s two rivals making the cut over the Buckeyes.
Instead, he has the Penn State Nittany Lions beating the Oregon Ducks to claim its first Big 10 crown since 2016. This would be a rematch of last year’s thrilling 45-37 Oregon victory. But it would be a surprise to see the Ducks making it back to this matchup.
The Ducks return a stellar core of talent, but lost significant talent to the NFL draft this past April. While Ohio State is breaking in 15 new starters, its recruiting pedigree and ability to dominate in the transfer portal have everyone more confident in Ryan Day’s program. The Ducks have a bigger question mark at quarterback in Dante Moore than the Buckeyes do in Julian Sayin.
It may not matter much in the end. The Buckeyes won the National Championship while finishing fourth in the conference last year. Losing again to Michigan is viewed as a disastrous potential outcome, but Ohio State fans would surely be more open to a season where winning The Game and making the College Football Playoff is more important than a conference title.
Pate also projected Alabama to beat Texas, Clemson to beat Georgia Tech, and Arizona State to beat Texas Tech.
