Ohio State’s three most exciting matchups in 2026
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For the longest time, the Ohio State football schedule had only two or three notable matchups each year. The Buckeyes typically played at least one marquee game in the non-conference slate, and the only two losable (on paper) Big Ten games outside of that had been Penn State and Michigan.
That is no longer the case, as the expansion of the Big Ten plus the emergence of previously dormant programs within the conference has created an exciting regular season schedule for Ohio State year in and year out. That is especially true in 2026, where the Buckeyes are staring down the barrel of one of their toughest campaigns to date.
Heading into this season, Ohio State has six games on the calendar that I would consider fun and interesting matchups against quality opponents, with four of them coming on the road. These are the three most exciting battles on this year’s slate, not including the season finale against Michigan — which is obviously in a category of its own.
(at) Texas – Sept. 12
The new-look Buckeyes will get only one tune-up game in 2026, hosting Ball State in the season opener before a trip to take on an almost certainly top-five Texas in Austin.
Ohio State opened up the 2025 campaign against the Longhorns in Columbus, emerging victorious in a 14-7 contest where we got our first good glimpse at Matt Patricia’s defense. The Buckeyes held Arch Manning and company scoreless through three quarters, and a long touchdown to Carnell Tate early in the fourth quarter put the nail in the coffin in a gutty win for Ryan Day’s squad.
The quarterbacks from that matchup remain the same this time around, with both Manning and Julian Sayin now entering year two as full-time starters, but the rest of these rosters have been largely overhauled.
Ohio State returns some stars on both sides, including wide receiver Jeremiah Smith and running back Bo Jackson, who did not play against Texas last year as a freshman, but the defense is almost entirely brand new outside of Kenyatta Jackson, Jermaine Mathews Jr. and Jaylen McClain.
Texas, meanwhile, made a major upgrade at wide receiver with the addition of Auburn transfer Cam Coleman, while also returning Ryan Wingo, the team’s leading pass-catcher last year. Defensive end Collin Simmons will be looking for revenge after the Buckeyes kept him in check last time out, while the addition of Pitt transfer Rasheem Biles at linebacker further bolsters a strong Longhorn defense.
Ohio State basically ended Manning’s Heisman campaign before it even started in 2025, and Steve Sarkisian’s team would have made the College Football Playoff had they won that game in Columbus. That group will be extremely motivated to get back at the Buckeyes on their home turf.
(at) Indiana – Oct. 17
Could you even imagine having this game on your radar just three short years ago?
In 2024, Indiana became a great feel-good story.
In his first season at the helm, Curt Cignetti brought one of the historically worst programs in college football to national prominence. While they weren’t quite good enough to beat the Ohio State’s and Notre Dame’s of the world just yet, the Hoosiers went 11-2 with a College Football Playoff appearance — a completely inconceivable reality prior to Cignetti’s arrival.
In 2025, Indiana became the best program in the country.
Cignetti and Fernando Mendoza led the Hoosiers through a perfect 12-0 regular season, then proceeded to win the conference with a win over Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship. They proceeded to dominate both Alabama and Oregon in the College Football Playoff and defeated Miami in the National Championship Game as they finished the year 16-0.
Many of the players from that team are now gone, but Cignetti has continued to do a fantastic job at building his roster through the transfer portal. Indiana isn’t going to completely fall off the map, but it would be reasonable to expect at least a little bit of a drop-off this season.
That said, they will get a chance to prove they are here to stay when they host Ohio State in October.
The Buckeyes were a missed field goal away from at least sending the B1G title game to overtime in 2025, and will be looking for some revenge in Bloomington in a rare matchup where they aren’t the ones with a target on their backs.
Oregon – Nov. 7
Ohio State and Oregon have a very interesting history over the past decade.
The Ducks have won each of the two regular season matchups between the two schools since 2021. Mario Cristobal led Oregon to a 35-28 victory over C.J. Stroud and company in Columbus in 2021, and it was Dan Lanning’s group who won a 32-31 contest in Eugene in 2024.
Ohio State, meanwhile, has won each of the last two postseason matchups between the two sides. Urban Meyer’s Buckeyes knocked off Oregon 42-20 in the National Championship Game in the 2014-15 season, and Ryan Day’s group blew the doors off the Ducks at the Rose Bowl with a 41-21 College Football Playoff victory in 2024-25 en route to a national title.
While I would gladly trade a regular season loss to Oregon for a College Football Playoff victory over the Ducks later in the year, there are obviously no guarantees that would come to pass, and I’m sure the Buckeyes would rather take care of business on both fronts instead.
Oregon is going to be an incredibly tough opponent in 2026, and if the Big Ten is going to continue its streak of three-straight national title winners, it would not be at all surprising if that Ducks were the ones to make it four-straight.
Quarterback Dante Moore could have been the No. 2 pick in the NFL Draft, but instead elected to return for one more season, where he will throw to one of the nation’s best wide receiver rooms if guys like Evan Stewart and Dakorien Moore can stay healthy. The defense adds one of the country’s best safeties in Koi Perich to a defensive unit filled with five-star talents across the board.
Ohio State gets the benefit of having Oregon at home, but it is going to be a battle in Columbus.
Honorable Mentions:
- (at) Iowa – Oct. 3
- (at) USC – Oct. 31
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