What Buckeyes' loss in Cotton Bowl means for Ohio State's future in 2026

The Goodyear Cotton Bowl did not go as planned for the Ohio State Buckeyes.

For a team with serious title aspirations, the Buckeyes truly looked like a different team from what they appeared to be during the regular season. Ohio State suffered a crushing loss to the Miami Hurricanes 24-14, which was a truly devastating game to watch for fans who had hoped for another Cinderella title run in the college football playoffs.

What really stings for Buckeyes fans is how much different their incredible defense looked compared to what they normally appear to be. While Miami’s offense didn’t have quite the ‘electric’ performance experts predicted them to have, either way it did not change the fact that Ohio State just couldn’t stop Miami’s conservative gameplan on offense.

The mighty defense the Buckeyes rolled out in games this season was tough to stop, but after recent comments from Defensive Coordinator Matt Patricia regarding what Ohio State’s plan was for Miami’s offense, his comments about showcasing a few ‘new things’ are even more difficult to digest.

Another year goes by where Ohio State will see a change in their lineup as other prospects on their respected defense make the transition to the NFL as well. This means that Ohio State will look to see increased production from their younger defensive players, as well as potentially searching for an impact player or two in the transfer portal.

Ohio State will retool offense in 2026

The results of the Cotton Bowl do not fall solely on the defense, as the offense seemed to have stalled out in the first quarter and failed to build up any real momentum even as they found themselves down 17-14.

Losing Carnell Tate on offense will hurt next season, but with their signing of top prospect Chris Henry Jr. in December, it’s tough to imagine their offense shy away from their lethal passing attack.

Ohio State had a phenomenal year, being led by two of the nation's best wide receivers in Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate, and while Tate will be playing in the NFL next season, Jeremiah Smith will have one more season to showcase why he’s viewed as one of this decade's top prospects in all of college football.

The Buckeyes finish the season 12-2, heading into an offseason with questions to be asked regarding their offense with Brian Hartline’s departure, and hope to see themselves play in one of the New Year’s Eve or Day bowl games at this time one year from now.

They’ll be a team to watch over the course of the next four months heading into spring as to whether they’ll look to bring in established talent through the transfer portal or build from within from the long list of talented football players they have a part of their program.