Greg McElroy predicts Ohio State will ‘be playing as well as anybody’ by the end of 2025

After winning the national championship back in January, a lot has changed for No. 3 Ohio State. Still, once they figure it out over the course of the fall, the Buckeyes could be right back in contention in the CFP.

In a preview of the upcoming college football season on ‘Get Up’ on Friday, Greg McElroy addressed why he had Ohio State at No. 8 in his own preseason rankings, which was off from where they were at No. 2 in the Coaches Poll and at No. 3 in the AP Poll. McElroy said that ranking was based off how much the Buckeyes lost from their title-winning team and what all they’ll need be working to replace to start this season off.

“We are taking a bit of a risk,” said McElroy. “Now, a lot of people were critical last year when people were kind of questioning whether or not Michigan, coming off a national championship, should be ranked in the top-ten. They weren’t, according to me, because they lost so much. Ohio State did too.”

“Now, if you look at their superstar talent in Caleb Downs at safety, Jeremiah Smith at wide receiver, their top players are among the best in college football. But, the pieces that have to be replaced cannot be overstated, especially at quarterback where Julian Sayin, a redshirt freshman, will be making his first career start against the Texas Longhorns in the non-conference,” McElroy said.

That doesn’t just apply to the roster, though, as it also applies to the Buckeyes’ staff. ESPN’s Joe Fortenbaugh noted that Ohio State will be working with two new coordinators as well under Ryan Day with OC Brian Hartline, formerly their co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach, and DC Matt Patricia, who brings with him nearly two decades of experience in the NFL.

“On top of that, both coordinators are gone,” Fortenbaugh added. “Jim Knowles is one of the best in the business. He’s now the DC at Penn State. Chip Kelly, who did an amazing job revamping that offense before the playoff run? He’s with the Raiders. Brian Hartline steps up there (at offensive coordinator). Matt Patricia steps up on defense. A lot of moving parts there.”

All of these losses have been a storyline throughout the offseason for Ohio State. Hartline and Patricia were each hired to their roles in February after Knowles and Kelly both left over a week’s span coming out of January and into February. The program then tied a school record for their most draft picks, which led any program in the country this spring, with 14 selections across both sides of the ball. Even with plenty still there from top-five recruiting classes and additions from the portal, that is just objectively a lot to make up for, whether foundational pieces or short-term impactful ones, from one season to the next.

Still, again, it’s not as though Ohio State won’t again have one of the best rosters in all of college football. They arguably have the two best players in the sport, and the best on each side of the ball, in Smith and Downs. The rest of the team is them made up of ten transfer additions making up a top-ten portal class as well as young returning production, which is either somewhat proven or unproven to this point.

The Buckeyes are going to have to be ready from the start as they’ll open with a top-three playoff rematch against the Longhorns in The ‘Shoe. However, so long as the team comes along overall during the season, McElroy doesn’t doubt that they could be rated higher by year’s end, which is based on him having Ohio State playing in the Big Ten Championship as well as having them earning a top-four seed in returning to the CFP.

“I think they’re going to take a little while to figure themselves out but, at the end of the season, they might be playing as well as anybody,” said McElroy.