Two days after Thanksgiving, Ohio State’s national championship hopes seemed all but over.
The Buckeyes, second in the nation at the time, were three-touchdown favorites at home against bitter rival Michigan.
Even though the Wolverines are the reigning national champions, this year’s team was nowhere near last season’s team. So, it should have been an easy win for OSU.
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Ohio State’s Emeka Egbuka, left, with the national championship trophy after a game against Notre Dame at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Jan. 20, 2025. (Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
But they lost, calls for Ryan Day to be fired grew louder, and there were serious questions about what the Buckeyes could do in the College Football Playoff.
They quickly overcame it and dominated every team on their way to a national championship earlier this week.
Emeka Egbuka was 0-4 against the Wolverines in his career. He admitted in a recent interview with Pak Gazette Digital that he would “have to think about” trading his new national title for a sweep over the Wolverines, considering those games are “almost as big as” the championship.
If the playoffs had remained with four teams, the loss would have ended the Buckeyes’ title hopes and they would have been playing, in Egbuka’s words, “another meaningless bowl.” But with expansion to 12 teams, the Buckeyes had a chance for revenge and they took advantage.
“It was definitely hard to be able to walk into the building the next day and look at my brothers and my coaches in the face knowing that we hadn’t accomplished what we set out to accomplish,” Egbuka said.
“But, you know, at that point, we had to make a decision, because we knew we were going to be in the playoffs. We could have just rolled over and died, or we could have said, ‘We have a chance to win.’ this the right way. So we all got together like brothers and thought, ‘Let’s do this.'”
Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Emeka Egbuka (2) against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the CFP National Championship at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. (Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn Images)
Anger over the loss lingered after the game, when members of both teams brawled after Michigan players planted a UM flag at midfield. The pressure was on Day, but Egbuka admitted the short memory came from exclusive player meetings, not necessarily from anything Day did.
“There wasn’t much that Coach Day said. To be honest, we had a lot of meetings with the players. Just our team leadership and our seniority really shined through,” Egbuka said.
“When you look at some of the best teams in the history of college football, they all have great leadership. They all have great seniors, and that’s what you really remember on the team. We really take it seriously.
“We knew the team was going to outplay us. Coach Day is a phenomenal coach, but he can’t do much. We’re the ones on the field. We have to go out and play. And we just needed to permeate our mentality to the rest of the team because “That’s what great leaders do, and that’s what we were trying to do at the time.”
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Egbuka was part of Celsius’s Essential Six. The energy drink teamed up with Egbuka, Travis Hunter and four other college stars as part of a full roster before the season began. Egbuka said his record-breaking season, during which he became OSU’s all-time receiving leader, would not have been possible without his daily 200 milligrams of caffeine in the morning.
“Since our partnership, the product is great. It gives me energy and fuels me all the time. The fuel I got from it and everything helped me start my days. I mean, this has probably been the most intense season of my life . life.
“When it comes to meetings and practices, I get up early in the morning every day and don’t get home until 9 or 10 at night. That’s hard to do with little energy, so I think the degrees Celsius have dropped “It really helped me with that.”
There’s not much time to celebrate, though. After Sunday’s parade, Egbuka will be in NFL Draft mode and will have to start training for next month’s combine.
Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Emeka Egbuka (2) celebrates after defeating the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the CFP national championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. (Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn Images)
It’s practically an offseason for him, but Egbuka is ready for it.
“I am. I’m ready for this next chapter of my life. It’s important to take breaks and rest. So I have a couple of days I’ll spend with my loved ones before I train for the NFL. But it’s the life I signed up for.” .
“So I can’t complain too much. I’m just grateful to be in this position. A lot of people can’t make it this far.”
