After winning the National Championship Game in 2024, the Ohio State Buckeyes plan to run it back in 2025. But with a plethora of difficult fixtures in one of college football’s most challenging conferences, how many games can they really win during the 2025 regular season?
Ohio State Football Win Projections for the 2025 Season
Over 10.5 wins (+110), Under 10.5 wins (-140)
Including postseason games and conference titles, the Buckeyes haven’t lost more than two games since 2011.
Meanwhile, Ohio State has only lost five conference games since 2019. And with Jeremiah Smith returning alongside four other Buckeyes featured in CSN’s top 100 returning college football players in 2025, there is no reason they can’t repeat again.
DraftKings Sportsbook has set Ohio State’s regular-season wins total at 10.5, with the under being favored at -140. With a demanding schedule and an unproven quarterback under center, it is easy to see why the oddsmakers are being cautious.
Ohio State Football 2025 Schedule
- Aug. 30 – vs Texas Longhorns
- Sept. 6 – vs Grambling Tigers
- Sept. 13 – vs Ohio Bobcats
- Sept. 27 – at Washington Huskies
- Oct. 4 – vs Minnesota Golden Gophers
- Oct. 11 – at Illinois Fighting Illini
- Oct. 18 – at Wisconsin Badgers
- Nov. 1 – vs Penn State Nittany Lions
- Nov. 8 – at Purdue Boilermakers
- Nov. 15 – vs UCLA Bruins
- Nov. 22 – vs Rutgers Scarlet Knights
- Nov. 29 – at Michigan Wolverines
Like any good story, Ohio State’s 2025 outcome will be settled by a good beginning, middle, and end. The season is bookmarked by two heavyweight matchups against the Texas Longhorns on Aug. 30 and the Michigan Wolverines on November 29.
To open the 2025 season, the Buckeyes welcome the Longhorns, a battle between the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked teams on CSN’s early college football top 25 power rankings. It will be a tone-setting matchup for both sides with two inexperienced but highly recruited quarterbacks in Arch Manning and Ohio State’s Julian Sayin going head to head.
You then have to fast forward to Nov. 1 to get the next big matchup. Road games against the Washington Huskies and Illinois Fighting Illini are potential upsets, but the home game against the Penn State Nittany Lions should be circled in everyone’s calendars.
James Franklin’s side returns QB Drew Allar and RBs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen are expecting to make another run themselves. However, the Buckeyes have beaten the Nittany Lions eight consecutive times and lead the all-time series 25-14.
Then, The Big One. Ohio State’s run of eight straight victories over the Wolverines ended in 2019, and they have since lost four consecutive games to their nearest rivals.
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In the last 20 years, the Buckeyes have only failed to reach 11 total wins four times, with only one instance in the Ryan Day era. It is a proven track record of winning, and there is no reason that the current national champions can not repeat in 2025 over their 12-game regular-season schedule.
The big matchups have been outlined, but with a roster featuring a litany of returning talent, including five players in CSN’s Top 100 players for the 2026 NFL Draft, the Buckeyes are primed for another College Football Playoff run in 2025.
Ohio State Football 2025 Win Projection: 11
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