By Woodrow Carroll
The term off season is a misnomer. At least when it comes to professional sports and major college athletic programs. Long ago, it became obvious that to stay on top and maintain that competitive edge, it was going to be a 12 months of the year effort to stay on or near the top. Either that or quickly get left behind!
Being king of the hill means you will be challenged. With that in mind, take a look at the Ohio State Buckeyes, NCAA football’s defending National Champion.
Did you know that Ohio State, despite laying claim to the National Championship last season, will not start the 2025 season with the longest winning streak among the state’s FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) schools?
Ohio State’s final regular-season game last season was against arch rival Michigan, late in November. As far as Buckeyes’ fans were concerned, the outcome was a major disaster and suffered a 13-10 defeat.
A sense of dread was in the air that the Buckeyes, who were 10-2 at that point, might not qualify for the 12-team playoff that the NCAA had just put into effect.
However, when the 12 teams that had qualified for a run at the NCAA Championship, the Buckeyes were a part of the pack. From that point on, there was no stopping Ohio State which ended up beating Notre Dame, 34-23, in the National Championship Game. The Buckeyes, who finished the regular season with a 10-2 record, closed the 2024 book with a 14-2 mark.
Getting back to the state of Ohio’s FBS programs, we give you the Ohio University Bobcats from Athens, Ohio.
Last season proved to be a good one for the Ohio University football program. The Bobcats ended with an 11-3 final record. In the MAC Championship Game, played at Ford Field in Detroit home of the NFL’s Detroit Lions, the Bobcats handed the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks a 38-3 beating. The victory over Miami (O.) avenged a regular-season conference loss to the RedHawks.
On the heels of the victory over Miami (O.), the Bobcats were invited to play in the Cure Bowl in Orlando, Florida. There, the Bobcats edged Jacksonville State, 30-27. With that victory over the Gamecocks of Jacksonville State, Ohio U ended the campaign with a seven-game winning streak.
No claims are being made as to Ohio U. being superior to Ohio State. One brings something up in order to draw attention. How good will Ohio U. be this season? Ohio U. will open its 2025 schedule, August 28, at Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights of Rutgers are viewed as a mid-level member of the Big Ten Conference. Thus, Ohio U. winning streak figures will be tested. As good as Ohio U. was in 2024, the Bobcats suffered double-digit losses to Syracuse and Kentucky early on before going into MAC action.
Few who follow college football will have any trouble identifying the top college football conferences. Last season, the SEC finished with an overall conference record of 128-81 (.612). The Big Ten closed out at 136-99 (.579). If you want to sing the praises of the Big Ten, you make mention of Ohio State winning the National Championship. Overall. The MAC was 74-79 (.484). What the MAC did well was to go 5-2 in bowl games along with Northern Illinois’ eye-opening upset of ultimate National runner up Notre Dame in an early season meeting.
With Northern Illinois heading to the Mountain West Conference for football starting in 2026, it will be interesting to see how the Huskies fare this season in the school’s final go around in the MAC. And, don’t be surprised by anything Northern Illinois does this coming season.