3 things to know about Ohio State football's schedule release for 2026
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Ohio State’s schedule for next season is set after the Big Ten revealed the dates for its nine conference games in 2026.
Here are three things to know about the slate:
There are few gimme games for Ohio State
It’s hard to find a soft stretch in the schedule.
Eight of the Buckeyes’ nine conference opponents ended this past season with winning records.
The Buckeyes will only once play consecutive games against Big Ten teams who were unranked in the final US LBM Coaches Poll in 2025.
That’s a stretch in November when they host Northwestern on Nov. 14 before a trip to Nebraska on Nov. 21. Both ended last year at 7-6.
Even those games are sandwiched between Oregon and Michigan.
It’s a sharp contrast to last season, when just five of Ohio State’s nine conference games were against teams who were above .500. At a point in November, the Buckeyes played Purdue, UCLA and Rutgers in consecutive weeks, facing three losing teams that finished with a combined record of 10-26, allowing for more rest in the leadup to the game against Michigan.
The toughest stretch for Ohio State begins in October
In a span of three games to begin the second half of the regular season, the Buckeyes will face two teams that were in the College Football Playoff semifinals.
The stretch begins on Oct. 17 at Indiana, which won its first national championship earlier this month and is well-positioned for a repeat run after some splashy pickups in the transfer portal.
It ends on Nov. 7 against Oregon, which met the Hoosiers in a semifinal. The Ducks are the only Big Ten team outside of Michigan that has beaten Ohio State more than once in the Ryan Day era, including a win in 2021 when they were members of the Pac-12.
The Buckeyes are at USC in between those games. While the Trojans have never made the playoff, there’s some buzz entering Lincoln Riley’s fifth season at the helm due to the return of quarterback Jaydan Maiava.
Indiana and Oregon were the only Big Ten teams that averaged more points per game than USC last season.
All three boast experienced starting quarterbacks entering 2026, as the Hoosiers added TCU transfer Josh Hoover and the Ducks brought back Dante Moore, who held off entering the NFL draft despite being projected as a possible No. 1 overall pick.
The Big Ten didn’t add hurdles
It should be a sigh of relief for the Buckeyes that the conference didn’t make their schedule any more difficult.
The Buckeyes avoided road games in consecutive weeks after such back-to-backs in three out of the past four years. They’re idle on Oct. 24 between the trips to Indiana and USC.
The off week will make it easier for them to leave earlier for Los Angeles. They adjusted their West Coast itinerary last season, leaving two days before a game at Washington in order to acclimate to the three-hour time difference.
The Pacific Northwest trip last September followed an idle week, something the Buckeyes didn’t have when they were at Oregon in 2024.
While the midseason stretch figures to be grueling with Indiana and Oregon, it’s at least a month after the Buckeyes visit Texas and does not butt up against their rivalry game against Michigan that is held the final weekend of the regular season.
Ohio State also gets a home game to open its conference schedule for the first time since 2022.
2026 Ohio State football schedule
All times TBD
- Sept. 5: vs. Ball State
- Sept. 12: at Texas
- Sept. 19: vs. Kent State
- Sept. 26: vs. Illinois
- Oct. 3: at Iowa
- Oct. 10: vs. Maryland
- Oct. 17: at Indiana
- Oct. 24: OFF
- Oct. 31: at USC
- Nov. 7: vs. Oregon
- Nov. 14: vs. Northwestern
- Nov. 21: at Nebraska
- Nov. 28: vs. Michigan
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Email him at jkaufman@dispatch.com and follow along on Bluesky, Instagram and X for more.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State football 2026 schedule announced: 3 things to know
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