The No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes capped off their 2025 regular season with a dominant win over the rival Michigan Wolverines on Saturday, notching a 12-0 record on the year.
Ohio State will fight to maintain its No. 1 position in the College Football Playoff rankings in a highly anticipated Big Ten Championship matchup against the No. 2 Indiana Hoosiers on Dec. 6. If the reigning national champion Buckeyes take care of business and further their undefeated record, they’ll earn a first-round bye as the top-ranked team in the nation.
So, who will Ohio State matchup against in their first College Football Playoff contest?
Both Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach of ESPN are predicting a Rose Bowl matchup between No. 1 Ohio State and the No. 9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Each of these college football analysts have Notre Dame beating the No. 8 Oklahoma Sooners in a first-round matchup at Norman’s Memorial Stadium.
“Ohio State vs. Notre Dame would feature two of the hottest teams in the sport,” Bonagura wrote in his analysis.
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Notre Dame is undefeated since suffering back-to-back losses against Miami and Texas A&M to open up the season, winning 10 consecutive games to close out the year.
Ohio State hasn’t lost since its stunning regular-season finale against Michigan in 2024. Ryan Day and the Buckeyes notched four straight postseason wins after that upset loss, capped off with a 34-23 victory over the Fighting Irish in the College Football Playoff national championship.
This hypothetical Ohio State-Notre Dame rematch in the Rose Bowl would no doubt be one of the most highly anticipated matchups of the 2025-26 postseason.
The penultimate College Football Playoff rankings will be released to the public on Tuesday. The final postseason rankings will arrive after conference championship weekend.
