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“THAT’S ACTUALLY A HELL OF A SEASON.” Urban Meyer sees Ohio State finishing the 2025 regular season with the same record as 2024.
In the latest episode of The Triple Option, Meyer predicted a 10-2 season for the Buckeyes in 2025.
“They recruited at a whole different level than anyone else in college football in the last 15 to 20 years,” Meyer said, seemingly patting himself on the back while explaining his prediction. “I thought we already recruited good. Man, I see these rosters, my gosh, what they’ve done. They had a good spring game. They love the quarterback (Julian) Sayin, the Alabama transfer. But you have two new coordinators. Matt Patricia, that’s gonna be the biggest challenge because I think Brian Hartline’s just gonna keep going along with the Chip Kelly, Ohio State and Ryan Day offense.”
Mark Ingram agreed with Meyer’s prediction. The co-hosts then discussed how a 10-win season would be an impressive accomplishment considering Ohio State’s roster turnover.
“That’s actually a hell of a season with a new team,” Meyer said. “You know what a new team is by the end of the year? It’s not a new team anymore. It’s an old team. They’ll be a veteran team by the time they get to Ann Arbor (on Nov. 29).”
According to FanDuel Sportsbook, Ohio State’s over/under win total for next season is 10.5. The Buckeyes have +200 odds to win the Big Ten title and +600 odds to win the national championship.
FanDuel has also opened point spreads for two Ohio State games in 2025. The Buckeyes are 3.5-point favorites over Texas in the season opener and 5.5-point favorites over Michigan in the 2025 season finale.
“DEFINITELY GOT GRANDPA’S GENE.” When Ohio State welcomes Texas into the Horseshoe, Arch Manning will be the Longhorns’ quarterback. The former No. 1 overall prospect spent two seasons as Quinn Ewers’ backup in Austin, but with Ewers off to the NFL, it’s Manning’s turn to Hook ’Em.
In a recent interview with ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian discussed what makes Manning special. What Sark shared could be helpful as Ohio State fans look forward to a battle between two of the nation’s top teams on Aug. 31.
Question: Arch Manning's moment is finally here. He's waited patiently for it. He's the focal point of both the offense and the locker room now. How's he embraced the new reality?
Sarkisian: I think there's something that's unique about Arch. You can watch him throw and you see when you get up on him in person, man, he's a bigger guy than maybe people think. When you watch him throw, the arm talent and the deep ball is there. Then you watch him move and you're like, wait, this guy's a better athlete than I thought. Definitely got grandpa's gene. It's not the uncles, he got grandpa's gene. There's an infectious leadership that he has, that I don't want to say is unintentional because he intentionally leads. You can feel that. But the unintentional leadership ability he has, players gravitate to him, they want to be around him.
They like him for who he is, not for the name on the back of his jersey. And I think that's something that he provides. He's a fiery guy. He enjoys playing the game. Even in practice he'll make a throw, and he'll look over at me and wink at me almost like, 'Did you like that?' And so we have really good rapport, but I understand now because of my rapport with him, why the players have really good rapport with him. He just has a natural ability to engage with people.
Q: What's that rapport like?
Sarkisian: Sometimes it's verbal, sometimes it's nonverbal. But I think that's part of the responsibility as a quarterback that when you look at a quarterback and why is it this position in sports that is so coveted? It's because your job is really to instill belief in the locker room, your job is to instill belief in an organization or a team or in a staff, and then ultimately your job is to instill belief in a fan base. And I think that he does that very naturally. It's not something that is manufactured or fabricated. It's very natural for him to go along with all those other things, the skill set, the ability to do those things. And so, I'm excited for him. I just want to make sure that we're really strong around him, that he doesn't feel the weight of the world to have to go perform. I want us to play really well around him to enhance what he's able to do.
Q: Will there be some grace for growth? Some people already are pegging him the first-team All-SEC quarterback. He's spent his whole life as a Manning, so he's prepared, I guess, but do you think he's prepared for the first interception in Columbus? Or the moment when on-field adversity hits? Do you think he's ready for the level of both praise and criticism that will come?
Sarkisian: I think one, the exposure he got last season was helpful. He got two career starts. He started as our quarterback in the first SEC game in the history of the school. And those were not all perfect. Granted, there were some great moments. He threw nine touchdowns and almost a thousand yards. There was a couple of bad picks in there, too. And in the end, I think he understands he is not riding the emotional roller coaster of the opinions of others and staying [with a] level of consistency in his approach, in his play, in his ability to pick people up. Easier said than done when you're not in the real fire of it all. But we are fortunate that he got exposed to some of that, and he threw a couple bad picks, and it was OK.
Q: He missed a few blitz pickups, right?
Sarkisian: Yeah, and he gets hit in the back and things like that. Like, he's learning. And yeah, there's probably going to be some grace needed. Unfortunately, it's probably not going to be grace granted outside of our building. Inside of our building, sure, there will be, but outside of the building, the pundits are going to be the pundits, the fans are going to be the fans, the opposing fans are going to be the fans. But inside our building, I think the support that he's going to get is going to be one that he'll definitely appreciate.
My parents often tell me Ohio State’s 2005 matchup with Texas is the loudest it’s ever been in the Horseshoe. Yet, if Manning throws an interception on Aug. 31, I think Ohio State fans could set a new standard.
It will be the season opener. The Buckeyes will be fresh off a national championship run that included a memorable win over Texas in the Cotton Bowl. Both teams will be ranked in the top five, and it’s possible – if not probable – that the teams will be No. 1 and No. 2.
Yeah, Ohio State fans could set a new standard, alright.
In doing so, I hope the Buckeyes can produce a different result than the last time the Longhorns visited Columbus.
THE BEST IN THE BUSINESS. If Manning throws an interception on Aug. 31, there’s a decent chance his pass will have landed in Caleb Downs’ hands. Downs was a unanimous All-American as a sophomore, and he will return in 2025 as the best defensive back in college football, according to ESPN.
Points: 90 (9 of 10 first-place votes)
2024 stats: 2 interceptions, 6 passes defended, 82 tackles (7.5 TFLs)
What do you need Caleb Downs to do? Whatever it is, he'll do it. Need him to do lineup near the line of scrimmage like an extra linebacker? Can do -- he made 7.5 tackles for loss last season with eight run stops. Need him in coverage? That's fine -- he was targeted 14 times last season and allowed 2.1 yards per attempt. Need him to simply roam the back of the defense like a prototypical safety? Let's just say it's probably not a coincidence that opponents stopped throwing deep against the Buckeyes nearly as much as they had in the past in 2024.
Downs was the proverbial "last piece of the puzzle" for what became the best defense in the country last season, and while Ohio State has lots to replace from its title-winning squad, having the best safety in the sport will alleviate plenty of concerns. -- Bill Connelly
Two Texas defensive backs appeared behind Downs on the list: safety Michael Taaffe, who appeared at No. 6, and cornerback Maalik Muhammad, who appeared as an honorable mention but was the lone defensive back to receive a first-place vote besides Downs.
Also, Jermaine Mathews Jr. was the sixth defensive back to appear as an honorable mention, earning eight points. No other Buckeyes were named in the article.
OLYMPIC VILLAGE. Neal Shipley is a rising star on the Korn Ferry Tour. Last week, the former Ohio State golfer appeared on Skratch, "the intersection between golf and culture," to answer rapid-fire questions about his life and the game of golf.
Neal Shipley: WINNER on the Korn Ferry Tour and rapid fire answerer pic.twitter.com/KHHPw3omHp
— Skratch (@Skratch) April 20, 2025
Pittsburgh Brewing Company needs to sponsor Shipley.
Get this man an unlimited supply of IC Lights!
SONG OF THE DAY. "In the Blood" - John Mayer.
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