Ohio State Football Championship Odds 2024: Latest NCAAF Futures

The current College Football national championship odds for the Ohio State Buckeyes are . Ohio State is coming off an 11-2 season, their tenth-straight year with double digit wins (outside of the COVID-shortened 2020 season). While they lost their home game against Michigan and didn’t play in the Big Ten Championship, they still made the Playoff and nearly upset the eventual champions Georgia. Can Ryan Day’s team build on that success this year?

Ohio State Buckeyes National Championship Odds & Futures 2023-2024

For most programs in the country, Ryan Day’s first five seasons would be a roaring success. A 42-6 record, three trips to the College Football Playoff, and two Big Ten championships – that’s a pretty stellar resume. However, Day’s Ohio State team has now lost two straight to hated rival Michigan, and that has resulted in calls for him to lose his job. Such is life in Columbus.

Day has the opportunity to quiet those calls for his head this season, but he’ll be reliant on junior quarterback Kyle McCord, the apparent replacement for NFL-bound C.J. Stroud. McCord only has 58 pass attempts to his name, and he’ll be playing behind an offensive line that lost both of its starting tackles and center.

Perhaps the defense will take on more of the burden this season. Jim Knowles led the Buckeyes to a top ten rating in FEI and EPA in his first year as defensive coordinator, but his team allowed 43.5 points per game and 8.9 yards per play to Michigan and Georgia in their final two games of the season. Consistency in the biggest games of the year must be achieved for a title to become realistic.

There are plenty of pitfalls on the Ohio State schedule. Road games and Notre Dame and Wisconsin put the Buckeyes in raucous atmospheres while a home game against a rising Penn State team isn’t an easy win. Even if they get through those obstacles, a road date in Ann Arbor awaits. Escaping this schedule without more than one loss will be tough.

Ohio State Buckeyes National Championship Odds Analysis

While the uncertainty under center creates some questions for the Ohio State offense, they have arguably the best skill position talent in the country. Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka are next in a storied run of elite Buckeyes wide receivers under recently promoted offensive coordinator Brian Hartline. Both are likely NFL bound after this season.

The Buckeyes’ run game should be very good once again thanks to the one-two punch of TreVeyon Henderson and Miyan Williams. Henderson was hampered by injury last season, and Williams stepped up with a 14-touchdown campaign. The Buckeyes could lean on the run game more to maintain what has become a six-season run of top-five offensive production per SP+.

The defense features some elite talent, as well. J.T. Tuimolau and Tommy Eichenberg headline what should be a very good front seven, but the secondary has some bigger questions. Denzel Burke has elite potential, but the Buckeyes will be reliant on recruits and transfers to replace the impact of some NFL-bound starters from last year.

Ohio State wasn’t super aggressive in the transfer portal, bring in just 9 commits – the fact that that’s now a low number is hilarious, by the way, but I digress. They did, however, bring in their fourth-straight top five recruiting class per 247. The Buckeyes have all of the necessary talent to compete for a national championship this season.

Ohio State Buckeyes Strengths & Weaknesses

Strengths

• The quartet of Marvin Harrison Jr., Emeka Egbuka, TreVeyon Henderson, and Miyan Williams headline arguably the best skill position group in the country
• Jim Knowles’s defense should further improve in his second season, especially in the front seven
• Ryan Day has continued to recruit at a national contender level

Weaknesses

• Replacing QB C.J. Stroud and three starters on the offensive line, all of whom are NFL bound
• The secondary has to allow fewer big plays – 119th in pass play explosiveness allowed last season
• The schedule isn’t friendly with tough road games against Notre Dame, Wisconsin, and Michigan plus a home game vs the ascending Penn State