CFB insider makes major prediction for Ryan Day & team ahead of Ohio State's iconic game against Big Ten rival

Ohio State is unbeaten this season and appears to be on the run for yet another national championship run. While head coach Ryan Day refuses to call his team defending national champions, his men have been crushing the opponents with equal merits and flexing their prowess in the Big Ten.

Ohio State's offense and defense both appeared equally strong and players like Julian Sayin kept on improving with each passing weekend.

According to college football insiders Joel Klatt and Chris Fallica, who recently shared their predictions for the 2025 playoff, Ohio State could be a serious contender for the championship.

Fallica mentioned that Day has been quite strategic in terms of devising plays and not letting his players slack against weaker opponents.

Despite having top teams on the opposite side, Ohio State stood poised and played their natural game.

“Only team that won last year, the team that is probably going to win again this year. It's got to be Ohio State, the most complete team out there, Sayin getting better week after week, continue to work him into the offense and throw him the ball more,” Fallica said to Klatt on his podcast on Wednesday. [Timestamp - 4:40]

“I think about the backs again. Better defense is impossible to score against. They'll probably run up against the team in the playoff, better than the offense that played so far. But how can you go against Ohio State? They won it last year. Pressure is trying to off them a little bit. Ohio State's clear and obvious to win it,” he added.

Ryan Day opens up on James Franklin's firing

As Ohio State preps to face Penn State next week, Day will not have coach James Franklin on the other side. The exit comes 12 years after Franklin was hired in 2014 when the team was under major sanctions.

The veteran coach carried out significant steps to rebuild the roster and attract top talents across the country. But Franklin's inability to win against ranked opponents led to his eventual dismissal.

“We had a lot of great games against each other. You take a chance to reflect on it all, but he’s going to land on his feet because he’s a really good coach. But then you’ve got to get back to work, so that’s the world we live in,” Day said to the reporters about Franklin’’s accomplishment earlier this week.

After the Penn State faceoff, Ohio State will play Purdue on road followed by UCLA, Rutgers and Michigan to wrap up the season. At this pace, OSU is expected to become the first team in the Big Ten to make the playoff in 2025.

Edited by Deepesh Nair