College Football

2024 Ohio State football predictions: Ranked No. 1 by RJ Young

Updated Aug. 12, 2024 10:17 a.m. ET

FOX Sports National College Football Analyst

[Check out RJ Young's ultimate 134 college football rankings here]

Conference ranking: 1st in Big Ten (+155 to win conference)
Teams behind them: Georgia (2), Texas (3), Oregon (4), Florida State (5), Ole Miss (6)

[Ohio State 2024 schedule]

RJ's take: No program made a bigger splash — splashes, really — than the Ohio State Buckeyes during the winter transfer portal.

It followed a spring game that revealed the prodigious talent that chose to return for the 2024 season. The lineup includes running back TreVeyon Henderson, wideout Emeka Egbuka, as well as transfers Will Howard, Quinshon Judkins and Caleb Downs. With these new additions to an already talented team, Buckeyes coach Ryan Day has successfully navigated through a raucous spring portal period with finesse.

Last season, Downs became the first true freshman to lead Alabama in tackles (107) since 1970. And they plan to play Downs — perhaps like Travis Hunter as he's spent time in the running back room at OSU and could see significant snaps on offense.

As I wrote earlier this summer, strength coach Mickey Marriotti referred to freshman Jeremiah Smith as the most impressive player he's seen as a freshman since former Florida great Percy Harvin. During the broadcast of Ohio State’s spring game on FOX, former Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer relayed that OSU general manager Mark Pantoni is calling Smith the best first-year player he's ever seen.

Yet the Buckeyes have lost to Michigan three years in a row, haven't won a Big Ten title in four and have not won a national title since 2014.

Penn State might be tough. Oregon will be tough. But we're on the journey to Nov. 30 when the world will stop to find out just who this Buckeye team is against the only team on the schedule that matters more to them than any other: vs. Michigan.

Ohio State Total Win Odds: Over 10.5 (-150) Under 10.5 (+125)

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