The Buckeyes need to get back to the top of college football’s toughest conference.
From now until preseason camp starts later this week, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about the things we need to get off our chests before the season starts; the things we need to get on the record. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all of our ”On the Record” articles here.
It’s a fascinating case study of what’s more important to Buckeyes fans: beating Michigan or winning the national championship.
Conventional thinking should mean that winning a national championship is more important, since that indicates no team in college football is better than Ohio State. Then again, the rivalry between Ohio State and Michigan is unlike any in sports, especially when viewed from the perspective of Buckeye fans.
When looking at the upcoming 2025 season, it’s clear that Ohio State needs to beat the Wolverines. Amending that, Ryan Day, in particular, needs to beat Michigan, and there’s no further explanation needed to explain why he does.
In addition to needing to beat Michigan this season, though, the Buckeyes also need to win the Big Ten Championship.
It’s been five years since the Buckeyes won the Big Ten. The last time they did, in 2020, the world was a very different place. That season was heavily impacted by COVID-19, with the Buckeyes playing only five regular-season games plus the Big Ten Championship.
Justin Fields was the quarterback, Trey Sermon and Master Teague were the running backs, and Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave were both still in their second-to-last seasons at Ohio State. Not to mention, Greg Mattison and Kerry Coombs were co-defensive coordinators, and Kevin Wilson was the offensive coordinator.
Needless to say, it’s been a long time (did I mention NIL wasn’t yet officially a thing in college football in 2020?).
Ohio State hasn’t even played in the Big Ten Championship in each of the last four seasons. Even when it seemed like the Buckeyes were a lock to at least play Oregon in the Big Ten Championship in 2024, we all know what happened. Great Buckeyes players over the last four seasons never got to play at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
To me, that’s unacceptable.
Ohio State has won 39 Big Ten conference titles. That makes going four-straight seasons without playing in the championship game — let alone winning it — impossible to think about.
The talent has been there in each of the last four seasons. Even though the Buckeyes won the national championship in 2024, and nothing will take what they accomplished away from them, it’s still disappointing to think that none of the previous four teams have been the ones hoisting the Big Ten Championship trophy in Indianapolis.
Michigan won three-straight Big Ten titles from 2021 to 2023, and they beat Ohio State in each of those seasons to punch their ticket to Indianapolis. Oregon, in its first season in the Big Ten, went 13-0 and won the conference title. So, in the last four seasons, Ohio State has seen its biggest rival and a new tough conference challenger take home the glory.
The Big Ten is only getting better. That’s not just a result of realignment, but also a result of the conference’s big dogs being able to go toe-to-toe and beat the SEC’s best teams. That also means it’s going to get even more difficult for the Buckeyes to get back to the championship podium in Indianapolis.
Expectations remain the same in Columbus: Beat Michigan, win the Big Ten Championship, and win the national championship. It’s been weird, eerie, not feeling right seeing the Buckeyes in the Big Ten Championship Game in each of the last four seasons.
That needs to change this season, with the Buckeyes reclaiming their seat on the throne in college football’s toughest conference.