The Ohio State Buckeyes did lose a lot of talent after winning the championship last season, which happens all the time. That included title-winning QB Will Howard, who many thought would end up looking even better in comparison to the 2025 QB, freshman Julian Sayin.
So far, that's not been the case. ESPN's Jake Trotter wrote, "Freshman Julian Sayin is off to a terrific start through three games, having replaced national championship-winning quarterback Will Howard. Sayin ranks 29th nationally in QBR (77.2) and is completing almost 79% of his throws."
Sayin had a solid, mistake-free Week 1, but he's really taken off since then. "In Week 2's 70-0 victory, Sayin set a school record with 16 straight completions to begin the game. Then, in Week 3, he passed for 347 yards as the offense got rolling against Ohio in the second half after a slow start. Some big tests loom ahead, most notably on Nov. 1 against Penn State and in the regular-season finale at Michigan. But Sayin has impressed so far with his poise and precision," Trotter concluded.
This should be frightening for any CFP contender. The Buckeyes remain ranked first and have arguably the best win of the season in defeating preseason number 1 Texas. If they're close to as good as they were last year but with a better QB, which it certainly looks like they are, then this could be bad news for everyone.
The Buckeyes didn't exactly dominate the field last season, but they never really faced a team they were going to struggle with and never really came too close to losing for the most part. In 2025, with a better QB, that could happen again, making them the first and only team to win the 12-team CFP in two seasons of it.