Last season, as part of our Life in Simulation series, we virtually recreated each one of Ohio State’s real-life games using EA Sports College Football 25, letting the computer play through each matchup, finding out the result and keeping track of the stats. While the actual Buckeyes went 10-2 during the regular season, the virtual Buckeyes went a perfect 12-0.
Now, with College Football 26 on the shelves and a new college football season just around the corner, it’s time to run it back and see how
our AI overlords think the new campaign will play out.
We will be doing in-depth game previews using a different simulation once the season is underway, but here are the results of our quick full-season sim, beginning with the regular season.
Week 1: Texas 17 - Ohio State 27
Week 2: Grambling 7 - Ohio State 48
Week 3: Ohio 10 - Ohio State 55
Week 5: Ohio State 31 - Washington 10
Week 6: Minnesota 21 - Ohio State 56
Week 7: Ohio State 27 - Illinois 19
Week 8: Ohio State 40 - Wisconsin 18
Week 10: Penn State 13 - Ohio State 20
Week 11: Ohio State 37 - Purdue 17
Week 12: UCLA 10 - Ohio State 36
Week 13: Rutgers 34 - Ohio State 56 (??)
Week 14: Ohio State 27 - Michigan 15
Ohio State regular season record: 12-0
For the second year in a row, our Ohio State dynasty simulation netted a perfect 12-0 record. It makes sense, given that the Buckeyes are the second-highest rated program in the game at 92 overall, tied with Notre Dame and behind only Alabama and Georgia, who are both 94 overalls.
While some of the results were a bit wonky, including a high-flying 56-34 affair against Rutgers, a lot of them seemed plausible. Ohio State played close games against Texas, Penn State, and Michigan, and even played a hotly contested road contest against a much-improved Illinois squad. The virtual Buckeyes’ largest margin of victory was 45 points against Grambling in Week 2, and their narrowest win was against Penn State by seven.
The Game at the end of the season was actually a battle between the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country, as the Wolverines entered the contest at 10-1 with an early road loss at Oklahoma their only blemish.
Offensively, Julian Sayin passed for a little over 3,000 yards with 31 touchdowns to five interceptions, completing 58% of his passes. He also added another 264 yards rushing and six touchdowns with his legs.
Speaking of the ground game, Ohio State favored James Peoples over C.J. Donaldson, with the former leading the team with 929 yards on 5.5 yards per carry with six touchdowns. Donaldson, who finished the year with only 438 yards rushing, did manage a better yards per carry average (6.2) and scored one more touchdown than Peoples (seven).
Jeremiah Smith obviously paced the receiving room, catching 61 passes for 932 yards and 12 touchdowns. Brandon Inniss and Carnell Tate weren’t too far behind him though, with Inniss catches 51 passes for 682 yards and 10 TDs and Tate snagging 41 balls for 589 yards and six scores. Max Klare put together a great season as well, catching 46 passes for 521 yards but with only two touchdowns.
Defensively, Arvell Reese led the way in the tackles department with 87, adding eight tackle for loss, two picks and a sack. Eddrick Houston put tup team-highs in sacks (12.5) and tackles for loss (25), while Caleb Downs snagged a team-high four interceptions to go along with six tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. Davison Igbinosun posted an OSU-best 10 pass breakups.
Elsewhere, Beau Atkinson made the most of his new home in Columbus, totaling 17 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks. His running make, Kenyatta Jackson Jr., posted 15 tackles for loss with 7.5 sacks. On the back end, Malik Hartford and German Mathews Jr. each snagged three interceptions.
B1G Title: Ohio State 29 vs. Michigan 13
After a closely-matched battle in Ann Arbor to end the regular season, Ohio State and Michigan met again the following week in Indianapolis as the No. 1 Buckeyes once again defeated the now-No. 7 Wolverines.
In a game that was tied 13-13 at the half, Max Klare’s 12-yard touchdown catch midway through the third quarter gave Ohio State a lead it would not relinquish. After three fourth quarter field goals by Jayden Fielding, virtual Ryan Day managed not only one, but TWO victories over Michigan in one calendar year.
Award Winners
Ohio State’s lone award winner was Eddrick Houston, who was presented the Vince Lombardi Award, given annually to college football’s most outstanding offensive or defensive lineman.
Julian Sayin finished fifth for the Heisman Trophy, which was awarded to Pitt quarterback Eli Holstein. Holstein threw for 3,722 yards with 27 touchdowns to only four picks, and added another 683 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground.
Ohio State earned first round bye
As 13-0 Big Ten champs, Ohio State earned a bye in the first round of the College Football Playoff, awaiting the winner between No. 9 Oregon and No. 8 Texas. The Ducks emerged victorious in a 57-56 banger in Austin, setting up an Ohio State-Oregon rematch in the Rose Bowl.
Rose Bowl: Ohio State 24 - Oregon 20
This time around, the Buckeyes and Ducks played a much more competitive game in Pasadena. Oregon took a 20-17 lead towards the end of the third quarter, but a short two-yard touchdown run by Julian Sayin with 3:48 left in the fourth quarter was enough for Ohio State to once again defeat the Big Ten foe.
Sayin finished the game completing 19-of-33 passes for 263 yards and a touchdown. Carnell Tate had a huge night, catching seven passes for 141 yards, while Jeremiah Smith totaled six catches for 67 yards and a score. Jaylen McLain and Malik Hartford each recorded an interception, Caden Curry and Beau Atkinson each tallied a sack, and Caleb Downs led the team with nine total tackles.
Peach Bowl: Ohio State 33 - Auburn 28
Stop me if you’ve seen this before, but after defeating Oregon in the Rose Bowl, Ohio State advanced to take on a SEC team in the CFP Semifinal. This time, it was No. 5 Auburn in the Peach Bowl.
The Buckeyes held at 17-14 lead at the half, but from there began to pull away. Ohio State added a field goal and a 43-yard touchdown by Tate in the third quarter, missing a two-point conversion to make it 26-14. Klare added another touchdown early in the fourth quarter to make it a three-score game, and despite two long touchdowns by Auburn in the final frame, the Buckeyes ran out the final 3:49 remaining to advance to their second-straight national title game.
Sayin had a big game, completing 22 of his 33 attempts for 301 yards and three touchdowns with one pick. Smith was held relatively in check with only three catches for 40 yards, but Inniss caught six passes for 97 yards and Tate added four receptions for 77 yards. Klare caught two TDs on four total catches for 38 yards, while James Peoples ran for 44 yards and one score on 11 carries.
Despite the loss, Auburn wide receiver Cam Coleman put on a show, catching eight passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns. Ohio State’s defense managed just one sack — by Houston — and Downs came away with an interception. Arvell Reese tallied a game-high 10 tackles.
National Championship: Ohio State 24 - Penn State 35
It was an all-Big Ten national title, as No. 1 Ohio State matched up against No. 7 Penn State in Miami. The two B1G contenders met earlier in the year in Columbus, and as usual it was an incredibly close battle that resulted in a slim victory for the Buckeyes. On a neutral field this second time around, they would not be so lucky...
Ohio State scored game’s first 14 points, but Penn State put up 21-0 second quarter to take the lead at the break. Both teams matched touchdowns in the third quarter as we entered the final 15 minutes of play with the Nittany Lions ahead 28-21. The Buckeyes kicked a field goal midway through the quarter to make it 28-24, but a Penn State touchdown on the ensuing drive ultimately put the game out of reach.
Sayin threw for 311 yards with two touchdowns, but also tossed a pair of interceptions. It was an exceptionally tough day for the Ohio State rushing attack, as both running backs combined for only 53 yards on 15 carries. Out of nowhere, Mylan Graham led the way through the air with seven catches for 114 yards and a touchdown, while Smith added four grabs for 65 yards and a score.
On the other side, Drew Allar completed 18 of his 26 passes for 219 yards and a touchdown, but the real story of the day was the Penn State rushing attack. Nicholas Singleton totaled 124 yards on 17 carries with two TDs, while Kaytron Allen added another 68 yards on 13 carries with two scores of his own. The Nittany Lions out-gained the Buckeyes 437-369, and also dominated the turnover battle, 3-0.
Ohio State’s quest for back-to-back national titles came up just short, but I think Buckeye Nation would be more than pleased with two wins against Michigan in a single season, including one to secure the program’s first Big Ten title since 2020.
We will be back soon enough with new simulations of each of Ohio State’s opponents throughout the 2025 season.
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