On August 30th, 2025, noon eastern time, at Ohio Stadium in Columbus Ohio, the defending National Champion Ohio State Buckeyes will host the Texas Longhorns to start their 2025 NCAA Football Season. The last time the Buckeyes and head coach Ryan Day took the field on January 20th,2025, they were crowned National Champions by defeating the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 34-23. On January 10th, 2025, in the Cotton Bowl and the College Football Playoffs Semi Finals the Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the Texas Longhorns 28-14. This season opener is not only a Cotton Bowl Rematch it is also a good indicator of the Buckeyes outlook for 2025.

According to the 2025 College Football Power Index the Texas Longhorns are ranked number one in the country. The Ohio State Buckeyes are ranked third. Which is why having a game week one with this high of a profile kickoff at noon seems strange to many fans. This should be a Saturday Night featured game for network television. Ohio State did lose players from the prior year to the NFL Draft. But they were able to reload their roster while keeping some key players.

Both wide receiver Jeremiah Smith and safety Caleb Downs are back for the 2025 season with the Ohio State Buckeyes. The loss of quarterback Will Howard, running back Quinshon Judkins, and linebacker Jack Sawyer have hurt the Buckeyes chances of repeating in 2025. But early reports on 5-star quarterback recruit Julian Sayin have been impressive. Also transfer running back CJ Donaldson Junior joins the Buckeyes from the West Virginia Mountaineers program where he averaged 4.5 yards per carry. And lastly the Buckeyes still have Sonny Styles and CJ Hicks on defense. Ohio State Buckeyes insiders are saying that they feel better about this team than last season’s team. 2025 can be another season of redemption for Buckeyes’ head coach Ryan Day. And that redemption will begin November 30th in Ann Arbor Michigan.