Miami freshman tight end Luka Gilbert, the Hurricanes’ only player from Ohio, was offered by the Buckeyes but committed to Miami without making an official visit to OSU. Nate Roberts committed to Ohio State just five days later, and the Buckeyes later added a second tight end in the 2025 class in in-state tight end Brody Lennon.

The Buckeyes are familiar with Raiola from his time as a recruit. The former five-star prospect in the 2024 class was once committed to Ohio State, but he later flipped to Georgia then Nebraska.

Ohio State will wait another week before playing its first game of the College Football Playoff in 2025.

Ohio State and Miami meet in college football's postseason for the first time since the 2003 BCS National Championship

Ohio State received the No. 2 seed in the College Football Playoff after the selection committee released its final rankings on Dec. 7. It had been in line for the top seed for weeks, going perfect in the regular season, before falling to unbeaten Indiana in a clash in the Big Ten championship game the previous night.