Two days after Thanksgiving, Ohio State’s national championship hopes seemed all but over.
The Buckeyes, ranked second in the nation at the time, were three-touchdown favorites at home against bitter rival Michigan.
Despite the Wolverines being the reigning national champions, this year’s squad 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 doubts about what the Buckeyes would be able to do in the College Football Playoff.
They quickly got over it, dominating every team in their path en route to a national championship earlier this week.
Emeka Egbuka went 0-4 against the Wolverines in his career. He admitted in a recent interview with Pakinomist Digital that he would “have to think about” trading his new national title for a pair of the Wolverines, given that those games are “almost as big as” the championship.
If the playoff remained at four teams, the loss would have ended the Buckeyes’ title hopes and they would have played, in Egbuka’s words, “another meaningless bowl.” But with the expansion to 12 teams, the Buckeyes had a chance for revenge and took it.
“It was definitely tough to be able to walk into the building the next day and look my brothers in the face and look my coaches in the face knowing that we hadn’t accomplished what we set out to accomplish,” Egbuka said.
“But you know, at that moment we had a choice to make 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 the opportunity to be able to end this the right way.’ So we all got together as brothers and we thought, ‘We’re going to 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, as 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 players-only meetings, not necessarily from anything Day did.
“It wasn’t too much what coach Day said. To be honest, we had a lot of player meetings. Just the leadership of our team and our seniority really shined through,” Egbuka said.
“When you look at some of the greatest teams in college football history, they all have great leadership. They all have great seniors and those are really the ones you remember being on the team. We really took that to heart.
“We knew the team was going to run through us. Coach Day is a phenomenal coach, but he can only do so much. It’s us on the field. We’re going to go out and play. And we just had to get our mindset through the rest of team because that’s what great leaders do and that’s what we were trying to do at that moment.”
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Egbuka was part of Celsius’ Essential Six. The energy drink partnered with Egbuka, Travis Hunter and four other college stars as part of a stacked roster before the season began. Egbuka said his record-breaking season, in which he became OSU’s all-time reception leader, would not have been possible without his daily 200 milligrams of caffeine in the morning.
“Ever since our partnership, the product has been amazing. It’s energizing and fueling me all the time. The fuel I got from it and everything, and it just helps start my days. I mean, this has probably been the most intense season of my life.
“When it comes to meetings and practices, every day I wake up early in the morning and I don’t get home until, you know, 9 p.m. It’s hard to do with low energy, so I think Celsius has really helped me with that.”
However, there is not much time to celebrate. After a parade Sunday, Egbuka will be in NFL Draft mode and set to start working out 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 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. (Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn Images)
It’s practically a non-existent offseason for him, but Egbuka is ready for it.
“I am. I’m ready for the next chapter in my life. It’s important to take breaks and rest. So I have a few days to spend with my loved ones up for training for the NFL. But that’s life , I have registered.
“So I can’t complain too much about it. I’m just grateful to be in this position. A lot of people aren’t able to get here.”