"Who's stopping Ohio State?": CFB analyst argues Ryan Day potentially winning back-to-back national championships

Ryan Day led the Ohio State Buckeyes to a national championship in the 2024 college football season. The Buckeyes were nearly flawless in their national championship campaign, losing just twice all season. With the 2025 campaign on the horizon, college football analyst J. D. PicKell sees the potential of the Buckeyes winning back-to-back national championships.

PicKell was a guest on Thursday’s episode of 'Crain & Company'. He said:

"While I have my reservations around Matt Patricia and how he works at the college football level. But when you have Caleb downs back there, it just wipes out for whatever problems you might have on defense and what you have to fix."

The On3 Sports analyst continued:

"As regards what I'm looking for in terms of cause and effect for Ohio State repeating next year. Quite frankly, you mentioned if they bracket Jeremiah Smith, well, who does that fall on? Then to go the right place with the football and find a Carnell tape, Brandon, Ennis, Max Claire, it's got to be Julian Sayin, not just being conversational in the offense, he's got to be fluent when speaking the offense. And no, okay, Jeremiah Smith is taken away. Boom, we're the cardinal tape, boom, we're the max player in the middle of the field."

He concluded:

"If you can actually maximize all the talent they have on that offense. Who's stopping Ohio State?"

The Ryan Day-led Ohio State Buckeyes are looking to become the first team since the Georgia Bulldogs (2021 and 2022) to win back-to-back national championships. The Buckeyes are as stacked as they come, as numerous players from their 2024 national championship side are returning in 2025.

Furthermore, Ryan Day has been with the program since 2018. He has experienced the highs and lows of the game and will enter the upcoming season with a wealth of optimism.

What's next for Ryan Day and Ohio State?

Ryan Day is entering his sixth full season as Ohio State's head coach. The 2019 Big Ten Coach of the Year is looking to join an exclusive rank of coaches to win consecutive national championships.

However, before he gets there, he'll have to sort out the starting quarterback situation. The Buckeyes need to choose a new starting quarterback after QB1 Will Howard entered the NFL. Julian Sayin and Lincoln Kienholz are the frontrunners for the starting gig, while Tavien St. Clair is an interesting option for the backup role.

The Buckeyes will begin their campaign by hosting the Texas Longhorns, led by Arch Manning. The Longhorns are a collegiate football powerhouse and figure to be in the running for this year's national championship. So, Ryan Day's side would love nothing more than a statement win to start their title defense.

Edited by Parag Jain