Ohio State football moves senior day away from Michigan to season opener
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Ohio State is embarking on something that’s more than a little peculiar, even in a perpetually changing, increasingly unrecognizable college football world
This season, the Buckeyes are holding their annual senior day before their 2026 season-opener against Ball State on Sept. 5 rather than its customary place before the final regular-season home game, which comes this year on Nov. 28 against archrival Michigan.
With the switch, the senior day festivities will coincide with former Ohio State coach and current Ohio Lieutenant Governor Jim Tressel, who led the Buckeyes to a national championship during the 2002 season, being inducted into the Ohio Stadium Ring of Honor.
Ohio State isn’t the first power-conference program to move its senior day so that it doesn’t conflict with a rivalry matchup. In 2024, Georgia scheduled its senior day for its penultimate home game so it didn’t overlap with its annual meeting against Georgia Tech. South Carolina did the same last year for its rivalry with Clemson (the results of those efforts varied, with the Bulldogs beating the Yellow Jackets in an eight-overtime thriller and the Gamecocks losing by two touchdowns to the Tigers).
It’s also not the first time in recent years that the Buckeyes have mixed up their routine in the lead-up to “The Game” against Michigan. Last year, while riding a four-game losing streak to the Wolverines, coach Ryan Day moved the school’s marching band’s annual practice in front of the team away from rivalry week and had Ohio State fly up to Ann Arbor for the game rather than taking a bus for the 190-mile trip north. Whether or not it was due to those changes, the then-No. 1 Buckeyes snapped their skid against Michigan with a 27-9 rout.
The senior day change has come on the heels of weeks of offseason discussion about the legendary rivalry, much of which has come from the Wolverines’ end. First-year Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham received blowback for comments he made at Big Ten media day in late July, where he said that “a rivalry can be intense and emotional without the hatred factor.” In an interview earlier this week with NBC Sports, Wolverines sophomore quarterback Bryce Underwood described the annual matchup with the Buckeyes as “just another game.”
Both Ohio State and Michigan are ranked in the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll, with the Buckeyes at No. 1 and the Wolverines at No. 16.
Ohio State has 23 seniors on its 2026 roster, as well as a handful of other players, like star wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, who are likely to forego their remaining eligibility and enter the NFL Draft after this season.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY Sports: Ohio State football moves senior day away from Michigan to season opener
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