What Ohio State must focus on to become repeat National Champions

Last season, Ohio State had just 21 days to complete a turnaround after a humiliating 13-10 loss to Michigan before entering the College Football Playoff.

After the program lost to Indiana in the Big Ten Championship Game with an identical score of 13-10 Dec. 6, the Buckeyes now have 16 days to regroup before the Cotton Bowl.

During the 2024 season, Ohio State’s rebound was lethal enough to turn the team into a juggernaut, steamrolling through the playoffs, eventually securing the 2025 National Championship.

Now, the Buckeyes look to repeat the same success in this year’s CFP with more time to prepare and one less game in the gauntlet. Although Ohio State has arguably a more complete team this year than last season, there are still some areas that needs to be addressed, while others need to become the spotlight for game plans.

Here is what the Buckeyes must do to become repeat champions.

Bend Don’t Break Defense

The Buckeyes’ top-ranked defense leads the nation in points per game and yards per game allowed, amongst many other notable statistics. In the Big Ten title game, Indiana dropped 340 total yards on the Buckeyes, with just 13 points to show for it. A huge reason for the unequal yards-to-points ratio is the Buckeyes’ elite red zone protection.

Ranking No. 3 in red zone scoring percentage allowed, Ohio State’s “bend don’t break” defense was on full display against the Hoosiers, who would start drives with productive chunk plays, before stalling out in the red zone. Indiana scored just one touchdown on four red zone possessions.

Defensive coordinator Matt Patricia’s unit is the backbone of the 2025 Buckeyes and will continue to be as the team enters the playoffs. Holding the then No. 2 team in the nation to 13 points is an impressive feat, and the only reason the Buckeyes dropped the game was due to uncharacteristic offensive struggles, which must be fixed before Dec. 31.

Sayin’s Early Game Errors

In Ohio State’s last two games, quarterback Julian Sayin threw ill-advised interceptions early in the first quarter, forcing the Buckeyes to start the game from behind. Prior to those matchups, Sayin had only thrown four interceptions throughout an 11-game span.

Granted, these turnovers only led to field goals, but still, this gave the opponents an early lead. In the playoffs, against the best that college football has to offer, these mistakes will single-handedly eliminate a team. If the Buckeyes want to win another national title, Sayin must revert to his mid-season form and stop the early game mistakes.

Thankfully for Ohio State’s quarterback, he knows how to rebound after these turnovers. After his interception against Michigan, Sayin completed 19-of-24 for 233 yards and three passing touchdowns. Versus Indiana he bounced back completing 19-of-25 for 245 yards and a touchdown pass to wide receiver Carnell Tate.

While plan A is obviously not to commit turnovers in the playoffs, Buckeye Nation should know that Sayin is skilled at not letting his interceptions take over the quality of his play.

Lackluster Red Zone Offense

Unlike the Buckeyes’ defense who’s specialty appears in the red zone, Ohio State’s offense mellows out inside of the opponents’ 20-yard line. Ranking No. 43 in red zone scoring percentage, offensive coordinator Brian Hartline has a major problem to fix before he leaves for South Florida.

Similar to how the defense’s red zone brilliance shined against Indiana, the offense’s struggles became obvious against the Hoosiers. In the third quarter of the Big Ten title game, the Buckeyes turned the ball over on downs on the Hoosier 5-yard line, and later in the fourth, would miss a 27-yard game tying field goal after stalling once more.

Ohio State’s offense knows how to break off long touchdown plays, ask running back Bo Jackson or wide receiver Jeremiah Smith. The unit is consistent and can provide gut punches at any given moment, but the red zone production sticks out like a sore thumb that coach Ryan Day and Hartline must fix.