Tag: Ohio State Buckeyes Football

Ohio State wide receiver transfer makes shocking commitment to Big Ten foe

Ohio State wide receiver transfer Jayden Ballard is going to Wisconsin, Hayes Fawcett reported Wednesday.

The Ohio State Buckeyes have had a wealth of talent at the wide receiver position, and unfortunately, one could make the argument that they’ve had too much talent at times, making it difficult to get snaps to all the highly-touted prospects.

That’s why some, like Jayden Ballard, ended up transferring, likely finding it easier to shine elsewhere. That said, Ballard has officially committed, and he’s heading up north to Wisconsin.

The Badgers are getting a potential star in the making with a single year left in his college career.

Ballard has spent the last four seasons with the Buckeyes, playing in 35 games yet ending with just 11 receptions for 63 yards. He did some kick returning this season as well.

With players like Jeremiah Smith coming in and usurping him on the depth chart along with the multiple five-star talents in Columbus, Ballard’s exodus is clearly a move that’s best for his career.

Ballard was a standout recruit in the Class of 2021, ending as the fourth-best receiver prospect, only behind Troy Franklin (Oregon), Ja’Corey Brooks (Alabama) and Emeka Egbuka (Ohio State).

That said, at Wisconsin, Ballard could be the top option for Luke Fickell and his squad.

How to buy No. 8 Ohio State vs No. 9 Tennessee College Football Playoff tickets

Whether you’re a fan of Ohio State, Tennessee, or just college football, get your College Football Playoff tickets now.

The Ohio State Buckeyes and Tennessee Volunteers are headed to the 2024-25 College Football Playoff.

The Buckeyes were selected to be the No. 8 seed and will host the No. 9 seeded Vols in Columbus at 8 p.m. EST on Saturday, Dec. 21.

Tickets for the game are already available. At the time of publication, the cheapest available tickets for the College Football Playoff first-round matchup between Ohio State and Tennessee cost $213.

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop Ohio State vs Tennessee CFP tickets” link=”https://stubhub.prf.hn/l/de4zRG5/”]

Ohio State ended its regular season on a sour note with a tough loss to Michigan, but the Buckeyes are into the Playoff with redemption on their mind.

The Volunteers have been a top-10 team for almost this entire season but their hopes of an SEC Championship ended with a loss to Georgia in November.

Get your tickets for what should be an epic first-round matchup of the College Football Playoff.

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop Ohio State vs Tennessee CFP tickets” link=”https://stubhub.prf.hn/l/de4zRG5/”]

How to buy No. 8 Ohio State vs No. 9 Tennessee College Football Playoff tickets

Whether you’re a fan of Ohio State, Tennessee, or just college football, get your College Football Playoff tickets now.

The Ohio State Buckeyes and Tennessee Volunteers are headed to the 2024-25 College Football Playoff.

The Buckeyes were selected to be the No. 8 seed and will host the No. 9 seeded Vols in Columbus at 8 p.m. EST on Saturday, Dec. 21.

Tickets for the game are already available. At the time of publication, the cheapest available tickets for the College Football Playoff first-round matchup between Ohio State and Tennessee cost $213.

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop Ohio State vs Tennessee CFP tickets” link=”https://stubhub.prf.hn/l/de4zRG5/”]

Ohio State ended its regular season on a sour note with a tough loss to Michigan, but the Buckeyes are into the Playoff with redemption on their mind.

The Volunteers have been a top-10 team for almost this entire season but their hopes of an SEC Championship ended with a loss to Georgia in November.

Get your tickets for what should be an epic first-round matchup of the College Football Playoff.

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop Ohio State vs Tennessee CFP tickets” link=”https://stubhub.prf.hn/l/de4zRG5/”]

How to buy No. 8 Ohio State vs No. 9 Tennessee College Football Playoff tickets

Whether you’re a fan of Ohio State, Tennessee, or just college football, get your College Football Playoff tickets now.

The Ohio State Buckeyes and Tennessee Volunteers are headed to the 2024-25 College Football Playoff.

The Buckeyes were selected to be the No. 8 seed and will host the No. 9 seeded Vols in Columbus at 8 p.m. EST on Saturday, Dec. 21.

Tickets for the game are already available. At the time of publication, the cheapest available tickets for the College Football Playoff first-round matchup between Ohio State and Tennessee cost $213.

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop Ohio State vs Tennessee CFP tickets” link=”https://stubhub.prf.hn/l/de4zRG5/”]

Ohio State ended its regular season on a sour note with a tough loss to Michigan, but the Buckeyes are into the Playoff with redemption on their mind.

The Volunteers have been a top-10 team for almost this entire season but their hopes of an SEC Championship ended with a loss to Georgia in November.

Get your tickets for what should be an epic first-round matchup of the College Football Playoff.

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop Ohio State vs Tennessee CFP tickets” link=”https://stubhub.prf.hn/l/de4zRG5/”]

4-star edge rusher flips UCLA commitment to head to Ohio State

A tough loss for UCLA.

4-star edge rusher Epi Sitanilei committed to UCLA back in June but on Wednesday Sitanilei flipped to the Ohio State Buckeyes.

It’s not hard to imagine why Sitanilei might want to join the 10-2 school that’s produced six NFL first round picks over the last three years but it will sting for the Big Ten rival Bruins. 

“All glory to God – I’m home! Go Bucks!” Sitanilei, the Bellflower, California native posted on Twitter Wednesday. 

Sitanilei visited UCLA back in May months before initially committing to the Bruins. Ohio State then hosted Sitanilei over the weekend on an official visit which did enough to win over his commitment. 

Sitanilei is ranked as the #21 prospect in California according to On3’s Industry Rankings and is ranked as their #28 edge rusher. Before flipping to Ohio State, Sitanilei was the Bruins’ highest ranked in their 2025 class.

 National recruiting director for Rivals.com Adam Gorney called Sitanilei said that “Maybe no DE has a higher ceiling than Epi Sitanilei in this recruiting class.”

Texas QB Quinn Ewers only member of vaunted 2021 Ohio State recruiting class to beat Michigan

2021 was one of the best recruiting classes in Ohio State history, but only the member of that class to beat Michigan is Texas QB Quinn Ewers.

Back in 2021, Ohio State had a historic recruiting class. The Buckeyes signed four of the Top 10 prospects in the nation and seven 5-stars, the most in program history. Ohio State snagged three of their five highest ranked recruits ever, including the No. 1 player in the class, Quinn Ewers. Ewers had a perfect ‘100’ rating.

The signing of Ewers upset then starting QB C.J. Stroud. But Stroud hung onto his job and had a great season, coming close to winning both the Heisman and national title. Ewers would leave Ohio State after his first season and head to Texas.

That Ohio State class included another ‘100’ rating in J.T. Tuimoloau, plus the likes of Marvin Harrison Jr., Jack Sawyer, TreVeyon Henderson and so on. But as good as the talent was, the Buckeyes class was No. 2 on national signing day to No. 1 Alabama. The Bama class also had seven 5-stars.

The class was supposed to ward off rival Michigan. For years under Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer, Ohio State had dominated rival Michigan winning 17 of 19 from 2001 to 2019. But the Wolverines brought in former Wolverines QB Jim Harbaugh to take over the program and the gap started closing.

Ryan Day took over the Buckeyes in 2019 and beat Michigan that year 56-27, the only time Day has won a Michigan game. Ohio State was the No. 1 team in the nation at the time. OSU entered the four-team college football playoff as the No. 2 seed and lost the semifinal to 3rd seeded Clemson.

The next three seasons, both the Buckeyes and Wolverines were ranked in the Top 5 when they met, with Ohio State the higher ranked team each time. Michigan won all three matchups and last year went onto become national champions.

This year, No. 2 Ohio State were heavy favorites to beat Michigan, only to lose 13-10 at home to a mediocre 6-5 Wolverines team.

Ewers wasn’t the only one to leave Ohio State via transfer portal. 4-stars JK Johnson, offensive lineman Ben Christman and safeties Andre Turrentine and Jantzen Dunn, three-star Jaylen Johnson and unranked long snapper Mason Arnold all transferred out of the program. Current Arizona Cardinal Harrison left early for the NFL Draft.

Of all the talent in that recruiting class, only Ewers has beaten the “team up north.” The Southlake product had one of the best games of his career at the Big House in Week 2 of this season, going 24 of 36 for 246 yards and three touchdowns.

It seems Ewers made the right choice to transfer to Texas.

The only positive from Ohio State football’s loss to Michigan

Ohio State football will miss the Big Ten Championship Game after its loss to Michigan, and that might help them as the CFP heats up.

Just like in March during college hoops, with a 12-team College Football Playoff, the team that gets hot and stays hot will come out on top. Well, that might not be Ohio State football after a loss to Michigan on Saturday.

However, the Buckeyes will get some extra rest as they won’t be taking part in the Big Ten Championship Game, which will now be between Oregon and Penn State.

A few weeks ago, Urban Meyer outlined a Urban Meyer doomsday for the Buckeyes, and that included facing the Ducks in the Big Ten Championship Game and then in the College Football Playoff.

Now, the most they can play each other is twice, and they avoid that situation. Couple that with some extra rest and time to figure out how to move forward into the CFP, assuming they make it, might bode well for Ohio State.

Irregardless of what happened in Columbus, having that time and energy conserved for the more important prize, the College Football Playoff, instead of the Big Ten Championship Game is ideal.

The Buckeyes will have to figure out how to regroup though and get back on the same page. An emotional game ended 13-10 and could be brutal for Ohio State’s momentum.

The Buckeyes will have time to figure it out and prepare for the College Football Playoff, and while they would rather be preparing for Oregon, regrouping after this loss might be for the best.

Ohio State football projected in CFP to face foe it has only ever played once

The CFP had some shaking up this week, and Ohio State football could play a first-round opponent it has only ever faced once before.

The Ohio State Buckeyes, if the season ended today, are projected to play the Arizona State Sun Devils in the first round of the College Football Playoff. The Week 14 bracket projections were released Tuesday evening.

Ohio State would then draw the Boise State Broncos, which is projected to win the Mountain West Conference. From there, it would take on the winner of Oregon vs. Tennessee or Georgia.

Assuming it wins three CFP games in a row, it would be in the National Championship. As for that first game against Arizona State, it would be a relatively unfamiliar foe for the Buckeyes.

Here is the full bracket projection.

As for the history between the Sun Devils and the Buckeyes, there really isn’t one.

The Buckeyes won the lone matchup between the two programs 20-17 on January 1, 1997, in the Rose Bowl. Joe Germaine was the Rose Bowl Player of the Game.

Aside from that battle, these two foes have never crossed paths, and given they are from different sides of the country that isn’t too shocking. However, that’s the joy of the CFP, and it could create for a unique battle come December.

Where Ohio State football sits for the Week 13 CFP rankings

The Ohio State Buckeyes stayed put at No. 2 in the most recent College Football Playoff rankings which were released on Tuesday.

The Ohio State Buckeyes, to no surprise, again came in at No. 2 in the College Football Playoff rankings. Oregon is expected to take home the Big Ten and is still at No. 1, meaning the Buckeyes wouldn’t get a first-round bye.

Now, there was a significant shaking up of the last several teams as numerous teams in that area lost this past weekend. That altered who the Buckeyes will take on in the first round.

Ohio State is projected to take on Arizona State in the first round and then, assuming it wins, it will draw the No. 4 Boise State, which is expected to win the Mountain West.

Here’s a release from the CFP Twitter as they place Ohio State second.

The Buckeyes have one more week in the regular season and are expected to clobber the Michigan Wolverines in rivalry week.

Having two top-five wins on the season, Ohio State has an impressive resume to this point, handing Indiana its first loss of the season in Week 12 and Penn State its first loss of the season in Week 9.

The Buckeyes will more than likely take on the Ducks in the Big Ten Championship and could force another big shaking up of the CFP if they come out on top in Indianapolis.

Ohio State football loses commitment from key four-star defensive end

Ohio State football lost a commitment from a key Class of 2025 four-star defensive end. Colorado appears to be the favorite to land him.

The Ohio State Buckeyes are among the most notable college football programs in the country and typically get the attention of top-ranked recruits.

The Class of 2025 is no different as the Buckeyes will have outstanding freshmen coming to Columbus next season. They have three five-star talents committed.

However, they will be without London Merritt, who has officially decommited from Ohio State. Colorado is seen as the frontrunner to land the four-star defensive end.

Merritt is ranked as the 25th-best EDGE in the class and the 31st-best player from the state of Florida by 247Sports. Their composite ranking has him as the 13th-best defensive end.

Colorado and North Carolina are both “warm.” He officially visited Ohio State in June and then Colorado on October 11. He committed to Ohio State back in March.

That said, here’s his official post.

While losing Merritt is far from ideal for Ryan Day and his program, the Buckeyes will be just fine. They have the best two cornerbacks in the class coming to Columbus and five-star quarterback Tavien St. Clair as well.

This team will be laced with talent next season, especially as several key weapons like Jeremiah Smith will undoubtedly be back to again dominate the Big Ten.