Ohio State Buckeyes Have a Tough 2026 College Football Schedule
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The Ohio State Buckeyes cruised to a 12-0 start during the 2025 college football season. They lost to the Indiana Hoosiers and the Miami Hurricanes in the final two games of Ohio State’s season. The Buckeyes will be tasked with a different challenge as the 2026 college football season approaches.
Ohio State is going to have one of the most difficult schedules in the country next season. The Buckeyes have to go at least 10-2 to make the college football playoffs next season. It would be hard for them to make the playoffs with a 9-3 record despite the tough schedule that is ahead for them. The Texas Longhorns, the Indiana Hoosiers, and the Oregon Ducks will be some of the teams that Ohio State will be facing next season.
ESPN analyst explains how tough the Ohio State Buckeyes schedule is
Bill Connelly of espn.com previewed the upcoming 2026 college football season for the BIG10 Conference. He talked about how brutal the schedule is for this team. Connelly said, “The schedule is also much rougher. Manning and Texas get a rematch in Austin in Week 2, and the Buckeyes also face trips to Indiana, USC and Iowa, and welcome Oregon in early November. They’re the No. 1 team in the country, per SP+, so they’re projected favorites in all of these games, but unlike last season, cruise control won’t be as much of an option. The schedule and the defensive turnover might force them to play with more urgency this season, and honestly, that could benefit them significantly come December and January.”
Going to Austin, Texas and Bloomington, Indiana this season for Ohio State is not going to be easy. Those two teams are going to be college playoff caliber teams. The Buckeyes should beat teams like the Trojans and the Hawkeyes. The game that could make-or-break Ohio State’s season will either be against Oregon or their archrival, the Michigan Wolverines.
The Game
When the Buckeyes and the Wolverines play each other in the final game of the 2026 college football regular season, there is no doubt that a lot will be at stake. Michigan and Ohio State is one of the biggest rivalries in college football. The Buckeyes ended its four-game losing streak against the Wolverines last season in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The game this year will be back in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State will look to extend its winning streak to two games against Michigan.
They are most likely going to need to win that game if they want to get back into the college football playoffs. No game is going to be easy for Ohio State this upcoming 2026 season. When the Buckeyes schedule is always being looked at, many fans and players look forward to the big game against Michigan. However, Ohio State will have 11 other games to worry about before worrying about the Wolverines.
It will be hard for this team to be 11-0 this time around. They faced Texas at home last season and didn’t face either Indiana or Oregon in the regular season. With them facing all three teams, there is a chance that the Buckeyes will lose one or two of those games. This is what makes the Michigan game that much bigger for Ryan Day and company this season.
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