Greg McElroy defends Ohio State as a tier one national championship contender

Ohio State enters this season as the defending national champions from the College Football Playoff. Now, despite what all they lost from last year’s title team, the Buckeyes are expected to be right back in contention in 2025.

Greg McElroy tied the teams in the Big Ten during the latest episode of ‘Always College Football’ on Monday. He would go on to place Ohio State in tier one, along with Penn State and Oregon, as a national title contender, although admitting he questioned that placement for them considering the turnover they have had on the roster and at coordinator from last season to now.

“There was a question for me as to whether or not I should include them in tier one because there are so many new faces off last year’s team,” McElroy shared.

However, Ohio State just remains one of the most talented teams in all of college football. That’s with what they did manage to return to the team while bringing in a top-dozen portal class and the fifth-best recruiting class.

Starting on offense, McElroy isn’t at all worried about that unit for the Buckeyes. They still have more than enough weapons, namely the player who is widely considered as the best in the sport in WR Jeremiah Smith, to help whoever ends up being their QB1.

“I think, after the national championship run, they still have quality guys to take over that quarterback spot, regardless of who ends up being the guy… I’m not concerned about the supporting cast and the personnel they have at wide receiver, how they’re likely going to be able to run the football, how the offensive line should fare,” said McElroy. “I think they’re going to be just fine. So, whoever ends up being the starter – like I said, I think it’ll be Julian Sayin? He should be well-equipped with a tremendous supporting cast to go out there and probably not drop off much from what we saw from Will Howard last year.

“It all starts and ends with Jeremiah Smith, who’s ridiculous. Probably the best player pound-for-pound in all of college football. Lived up to the name last year. And, how he played in the postseason? That can kind of be the norm going forward. I think that every single team that prepares for Ohio State’s offense this upcoming year? They’re going to have to be really, really careful in not letting Jeremiah Smith take over the game because he has already proven, time and time again, he’s absolutely capable of doing that.”

Then, defensively, there are just as many, if not more, questions. Still, they have more than enough names, especially with another top name in all of college football in DB Caleb Downs, to field another quality unit.

“Replacing Jim Knowles is going to be very tough. He was really good the last few years,” said McElroy. “But, if you look at the talent, this group might not be quite as star-studded with known commodities… maybe not quite as star-studded as a year ago but, I look at when those guys were on the field? I still think the pieces that are back should be just fine.

“It all starts with Caleb Downs in the back end. If not for Jeremiah Smith at wide receiver on his roster, you could make a case that Caleb Downs is the headliner in all of college football on the defensive side. Davis Igbinosun is back as a third-year starter now… You also have Devin Sanchez, who’s got some serious buzz. I look at the linebackers? Sony Styles is going to be awesome. Still like what they have there from a depth standpoint. And, while the defensive line is relatively inexperienced, there’s a ton of blue-chip players that have been just waiting for their opportunity.”

That all said, for the roster they could end up having, the slate may be what makes or breaks the Buckeyes’ title defense in ’25. They play a difficult schedule from the opener on by starting with a rematch of their playoff semifinal against Texas. McElroy then mentioned their home game against Penn State as well as their road trips to Seattle, Champaign, Madison, and obviously to Ann Arbor for The Game.

“The schedule is kind of a beast. You’ve got Texas in the season opener. That’s a marquee game, huge opportunity to go against one of the top teams in college football. They’re at Michigan. Penn State comes to them. They go to Washington – do not sleep on that matchup and that road trip cross country to play against the Huskies, I think they have a chance to be a lot better this year. At Wisconsin, at Illinois. UCLA comes to you,” said McElroy. “I think the schedule for Ohio State feels slightly tougher than it’s been in recent years, partly because of that Texas non-conference game but also because of some of the trips they have to make.”

The reigning national champion often comes into the following season as a favorite again to win it all. In order for Ohio State to do that, though, a different team will have to come together between now and the selection of the CFP in December.