Latest news with #Buckeyes
USA Today
16 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
The Sporting News predicts Alabama's 2025 season, CFP fate in Year 2 under Kalen DeBoer
The 2025 college football season is just over two months away, and The Sporting News is among several national media outlets making its prediction for the Alabama Crimson Tide in Year 2 under coach Kalen DeBoer. Alabama finished 9-4 last season, hardly the worst start for a coach tasked with enormous expectations following the retirement of Nick Saban. But a stunning loss to Vanderbilt after the Crimson Tide's rollercoaster win over Georgia, followed by a pair of ugly losses down the stretch to Oklahoma and a Michigan team that was a shell of its 2023 self, left something of a sour taste to close 2024. DeBoer and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb will have to break in a new quarterback in Ty Simpson, but Alabama has a lot of talent returning in 2025 -- particularly in the wide receiver room with Ryan Williams and Germie Bernard leading the way, and in the secondary with cornerbacks Zabien Brown and Domani Jackson, and safeties Keon Sabb and Bray Hubbard. The Crimson Tide also have an incoming freshman class that ranks in the top five in recruiting. Earlier this week, the Sporting News made its 12-team playoff predictions for the 2025 season. In the outlet's preseason projections, Alabama makes the College Football Playoff as the No. 7 seed and hosts a first-round playoff game against the Miami Hurricanes at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Per Bender: "Kalen DeBoer gets the Crimson Tide back in the College Football Playoff in his second season, and the Hurricanes are the at-large bid for the ACC. That means Carson Beck delivers as the new starting quarterback, and Mario Cristobal avoids a season-altering upset." A return trip to Tuscaloosa would mark Beck's second game in Bryant-Denny Stadium in as many seasons. As Georgia's starter in 2023 and '24, Beck went 0-2 against Alabama, including last year's 41-34 thriller on Sept. 28 that was clinched by a game-saving interception from the freshman Brown. For its part, Miami looked to be a lock for the ACC Championship Game last year under Heisman Trophy finalist and No. 1 overall NFL draft pick Cam Ward, but the Hurricanes lost its regular season finale in an upset at Syracuse. The Sporting News sees Alabama taking on defending national champion Ohio State in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, 2026. That means a matchup against former 5-star Crimson Tide QB commit Julian Sayin. "The Buckeyes are in the Rose Bowl for the second straight season as the Big Ten champion, and Alabama would be a formidable matchup. Julian Sayin -- who decommitted from Alabama after Nick Saban retired -- would be the center of attention in this matchup assuming he wins the starting job for the Buckeyes." Bender sees Alabama falling to the Buckeyes in Pasadena as part of his overall prediction that Ryan Day's team will return to the national championship game for a second year in a row; this time in a matchup against Texas at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Jan. 20. Alabama football schedule 2025 Alabama opens the 2025 season against Florida State at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee on Aug. 30. Kickoff was announced earlier this spring for 2:30 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on ABC. Here's the rest of the 2025 Alabama football schedule with updated start times. All times Central. Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama Crimson Tide news, notes and opinions.
USA Today
19 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Ohio State football 2026 wide receiver target postpones commitment
Ohio State football wide receiver target Jerquaden Guilford postponed his commitment announcement on Friday, just hours before he was to reportedly choose between the Buckeyes and Ole Miss. He was scheduled to let everyone in on his decision at 5:30 p.m. ET on Friday but announced that he was postponing his announcement via social media in the morning. "After deep thought and prayer, I've decided to postpone my commitment," Guilford wrote. "This has truly been the hardest decision I've had to make so far in my journey. I will not be committing tomorrow June 27. A new date has not yet been identified, but I do believe my commitment will happen before the start of my senior season. Thank you to everyone who has supported me through this process. Your patience and understanding mean a lot as I continue to seek clarity and make the best decision for my future." Guilford is currently only ranked as a three-star prospect, but Ohio State must see something in the 6-foot, 2-inch Fort Wayne product. He was considered a pretty heavy OSU lean after visiting a couple of weeks ago, but it appears as though Ole Miss has come on strong and giving Guilford something to think about. As more comes of this decision, we'll have more on it. For now. Ohio State sits in pretty good shape in this class at the wide receiver position. The Buckeyes have already put together another fantastic wide receiver class for 2026, led by five-star prospect Chris Henry Jr. and Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, both out of Mater Dei High School. They also have four-star prospects Brock Boyd and Jaeden Ricketts in the fold. In other words, things are fine either way on the banks of the Olentangy for Brian Hartline and crew.
USA Today
a day ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
WATCH: Ohio State football players take part in NIL media day
In a sign of the times, Ohio State football players took part in a media day this past week, but not just any media day of the traditional variety. No, instead, the players participated in Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) media day to showcase their skills in how marketable they are. The Ohio State football creative team captured a little bit of it in a social media post to share with everyone, and though there's not a whole lot of information to glean from it all, it's still interesting to see how these events happen behind the scenes, and important to note for all of those prospective recruits out there that the Buckeyes put an emphasis on what a player can do off the field as well. Take a look at a short video of Ohio State football players taking turns in front of cameras and interviews in an NIL media day on Thursday, and just wonder how far things have come in such a short time when even paying for a meal on a recruiting trip was frowned upon. Now, runways are being laid out to help them land NIL deals. NIL itself is going to look entirely different too as the sport now embarks on direct revenue sharing, but you can bet Ohio State will try to embrace that and be ahead of the curve as well. Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Ohio State Reveals New Timeline to Name Starting Quarterback
Ohio State Reveals New Timeline to Name Starting Quarterback originally appeared on Athlon Sports. With about two months to go, the Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback room is yet to find its star, and head coach Ryan Day feels that they still have time. Advertisement The front runners for the job are Lincoln Kienholz and Julian Sayin. Amid their heated competition, Day has set a clear timeline for naming the team's starter — late August. In a recent sit‑down with Lettermen Row, Day emphasized that while he's impressed with the developmental strides, the final decision will have to wait. 'I like their progress,' Day told Row. 'I'm excited about it. I see the talent. But that will all be decided in August.' Ohio State football head coach Ryan Day reacts after his putt on 18 during the Workday Golden Bear Pro-Am.© Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images 'All three quarterbacks are working hard," Day said. "Summer was the last opportunity to make any type of transformation — physically, mentally, emotionally, leadership‑wise, understanding the playbook." Advertisement "I won't know what that all looks like until we get into August.' The Buckeyes' management wants to keep the competition open throughout the off-season to maximize potential. "It's not just that Ohio State needs a new quarterback. The Buckeyes must replace their national championship-winning quarterback, Will Howard, who only spent one year on campus but had a massive impact on the program." Spencer Holbrook of On3 wrote on Monday. "Howard was gritty, tough, everything the Buckeyes could have wanted both on and off the field. Oh, and he could find open receivers to make plays." Now, with a younger starting lineup and no proven veteran, Ohio State's staff wants clarity before the season opener against Texas on Aug. 30 at AT&T Stadium. Advertisement Whoever wins, however, can be sure to get the best receiver room in college football. Related: Tennessee Gets Good News on Highly Touted Playmaker This Week This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 24, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Who will win college football national championship? SEC, Big Ten dominate preseason title odds
Can Ohio State go back to back? The Buckeyes begin the season as the co-favorites to win the national title with Texas. Both Ohio State and the Longhorns are at +500 to win it all ahead of their Week 1 matchup in Columbus. Advertisement So far, Georgia is the only team to win back-to-back titles in the College Football Playoff era. The Bulldogs took down Alabama at the end of the 2021 season to win the national title and then demolished TCU at the end of the 2022 season to win it all. Those two titles for the Bulldogs came in the four-team version of the CFP. Ohio State's title a season ago came in the first 12-team playoff as the Buckeyes had to win four games. Ohio State blew out Tennessee at home and Oregon in the Rose Bowl, then held off Texas in the Cotton Bowl and Notre Dame in the national championship game. Both the Buckeyes and Longhorns enter the season with new starting quarterbacks. We shouldn't have to introduce you to Texas' starter, as Arch Manning is the summer Heisman favorite ahead of his first season as a full-time starter. In Columbus, former Alabama signee Julian Sayin is in line to take over for Will Howard. Sayin was the No. 2 pro style QB in the class of 2024 when he signed with the Crimson Tide and enrolled early. But he entered the transfer portal a month after he signed with Alabama following Nick Saban's retirement and went to Ohio State. Arch Manning didn't get many snaps in Texas' CFP semifinal loss to Ohio State last season, but he'll be leading the Longhorns in Columbus in Week 1 this season. () (Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) Sayin is +1800 to win the Heisman ahead of July and his teammate Jeremiah Smith is another one of the top favorites at +1000. Smith was simply dynamic as a true freshman in 2024 and was one of the best wide receivers in college football. Advertisement They both will be getting plays from a new offensive coordinator in 2025 as well. With Chip Kelly now the offensive coordinator for the Las Vegas Raiders, Brian Hartline will be Ohio State's new play caller. Kelly called plays in his only season in Columbus after Ryan Day relinquished play-calling duties. Former Detroit Lions coach Matt Patricia is also Ohio State's new defensive coordinator after Jim Knowles went to Penn State. Knowles, a Pennsylvania native, is now the highest-paid defensive coordinator in college football. Overall, the top five favorites to win the title all come from either the SEC or Big Ten. Georgia is the No. 3 favorite at +650 ahead of Penn State at +750 and Oregon at +800. Gunner Stockton is set to be Georgia's QB after taking over for Carson Beck in the SEC title game. The Nittany Lions return QB Drew Allar and a host of other key contributors as they look to make another postseason run. Penn State dominated SMU in the first round and beat Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl before losing to Notre Dame in the semifinals. Advertisement Oregon won the Big Ten title in 2024 thanks to a regular season win over Ohio State and a Big Ten title game win over Penn State. The Ducks will have former UCLA QB Dante Moore as their starter with Dillon Gabriel off to the NFL. The potential loss of WR Evan Stewart for the entire season because of a knee injury could loom large. The first team outside the two powerhouse conferences on the board is Clemson at +1300. The Tigers could be the best value pick among all the favorites. QB Cade Klubnik broke out in 2024 and both the offense and defense return a ton of talent. Notre Dame is at +1400 to win it all and ahead of both Alabama and LSU. The Tide and Tigers both missed out on the playoff field in 2024 and have the best odds of any team that failed to make the postseason a year ago. 2025 national title odds Ohio State (+500) Texas (+500) Georgia (+650) Penn State (+750) Oregon (+800) Clemson (+1300) Notre Dame (+1400) Alabama (+1500) LSU (+1500) Michigan (+2200) Ole Miss (+2500) Tennessee (+3000) Texas A&M (+3000) Miami (+3000)
