Could the miracle pill that saved OSU in 2024 protect them again? Ryan Day and his $21 million roster. Say what you want, but the Bucks made quite the comeback after the Michigan Man upset. Day took it upon himself to make sure that every talent they paid for was used to their fullest. And well, what happened next? “When people ask you what happened here, tell them the North remembers.” Vols got knocked out, the Ducks got roasted, and the Bucks quickly claimed the title of the No.1 team in running for the natty. But one question remains. See, the NIL and a safe recruitment strategy fueled OSU’s resurgence in 2024.

Could this be the key to dealing with the current portal exodus? “Ohio State may be about to win a National Championship… They’re doing it because they recruited guys… they recruited them and then they reinvested in them,” Josh Pate points out. With the Cotton Bowl nearing, OSU has been hit with 10 transfers. QBs Air Noland and Devin Brown are out. Following them, the WR room will lose Jayden Ballard and Kojo Antwi. Other losses hit the OT and LB room. While it is true that these aren’t something massive for the Bucks as most of these players have had limited to no play-time this season.

You still have to remember that if you let the foundation slowly chip away, in some years, the dynasty could collapse. So it begs the question. Why hasn’t Ryan Day’s strategy worked its magic? See, when Day picked up Jeremiah Smith, it was a major gamble. However, it paid off. Against the Ducks, No.4 was on top of the charts. 2 massive touchdowns, and no one from the Ducks defense had an answer for him.

Then Quinshon Judkins? Transferred from Ole Miss despite knowing that the Bucks ain’t gonna replace TreVeyon Henderson. However, did it pay off? He-k yes. Over 170 carries with 10 touchdowns under his belt. Henderson and Judkins’ pairing causes havoc in the gridiron.

Finally, Will freaking Howard. Completely dismantled the Vols defense with 24 out of 29 dimes landed and 2 massive passing touchdowns. Against Ducks? Howard was on fire with over 300 yards and 3 passing TDs. This was the same guy who came over from the Wildcats and completely changed the OSU offense in 2024.

For the 10 transfers, how did the reinvesting trick not work? Simple answer? There is no foolproof method of keeping guys committed to the program. You can throw money, culture, etc., everything at them, but someone will come and offer something better and take them away. That is the new era of college football in a nutshell. However, what matters right now is the Cotton Bowl.

Vs. the Texas Longhorns

This game will be anything but soft, like cotton. Once again, going into this showdown, the Bucks are the crowd favorites and it is understandable why. With how easily they managed to end Dan Lanning‘s Cinderella run, it won’t even be a surprise if they blow the Longhorns out.

But then again, Steve Sarkisian won’t give up that easy. If anything, the ASU game proved that Quinn Ewers is finally back in form. Every single drive this guy pushed for with Matthew Golden and Quintrevion Wisner resulted in massive gains in downs for the Horns.

Even when Ewers helped Bert Auburn set up the 1:40 mark FG, the entire push was pure art. 20 dimes were thrown, and 3 touchdowns were in for Texas. There is no way he is letting that momentum stop. We agree that Texas had some massive problems in the second half, but a clutch interception during OT turned the tides in their favor.

While Bucks and Day have the roster advantage, Sark has one of the best SEC offense and defense under his belt. This will either be a back-and-forth lightsaber match or someone is getting force choked to death.