Ohio State lost 14 players to the pros. This is an entirely new team with a mostly new coaching staff. This is a rebuilding season for them.
I hope they do well, but I won’t be surprised if they don’t. When you lose that many players AND coaches, there are bound to be problems.
(We lived in Columbus for 25 years and our oldest graduated from there.)
Texas lost about the same number, but both teams are really good and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them in the playoff again.