Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes begin the 2025 college football season Saturday with a huge game against top-ranked Texas. Many observers believe that the Buckeyes will have their hands filled in this game and that quarterback Arch Manning and the Longhorns will have the upper hand even though the game is at the Horseshoe in Columbus.
"We all were in that thing together last year and Ryan Day gave me a chance..
He really took me in and I felt like I owed him..
He gave me so much and I just didn't wanna let him down" ~ @whoward_ #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/X8aNAUzysD
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) August 29, 2025
The game marks the beginning of Ohio State's attempt to win back-to-back national championships for the first time in school history. Quarterback Will Howard served as the trigger man for last year's championship team, and he is in Columbus to support Ohio State. Howard was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the sixth round, and the quarterback credits Day for giving him a chance to play with the Buckeyes, win a national championship and get an opportunity to play in the NFL.
“We all were in that thing together last year and Ryan Day gave me a chance,” Howard said. “He really took me in and I felt like I owed him. He gave me so much and I just didn't want to let him down.”
Howard will begin the season on the Reserved/Injured list for the Steelers. He performed impressively at the start of training camp, but he suffered a broken bone in his hand that prevented him from continuing his development in the final weeks of camp. He will miss at least the first four weeks of the season before he has a chance to come off the Injured list and rejoin his teammates.
Ohio State can still defend crown even with a loss vs. Texas
In the era before the expanded college football playoffs, powerhouses like Ohio State and Texas were hesitant to play each other in non-conference games. That's because one crucial loss could knock a good team out of the national championship race.
That is no longer the case. Ohio State was able to win the national title last year after a midseason loss to Oregon and a brutal late-season loss to archrival Michigan.
If the Buckeyes lose to Texas and take a loss during the Big Ten regular season, they could still win the Big Ten championship and earn a bye in the College Football Playoffs. It's conceivable that Texas and Ohio State could also meet in the postseason after playing in the opening game of the season.
The Buckeyes lost 14 players to the NFL in the offseason, but Day's team is still loaded with talent. Julian Sayin takes over from Howard at the quarterback position and he has one of the nation's elite wide receivers in Jeremiah Smith.
