Ohio State Football Releases Schedule For All Big Ten Opponents

In collaboration with the Big Ten Conference, on Tuesday evening, all 18 football programs saw their conference schedules released. Under the Big Ten's scheduling format since the conference expanded to 18 teams in 2024, opponents were known.

But the dates for who the Ohio State Buckeyes would play (outside of the Indiana Hoosiers on Oct. 17) weren't known until now. So, without further ado, here are the Buckeyes' conference opponents this fall following a three-game nonconference slate (Ball State Cardinals, at Texas Longhorns and Kent State).

Ohio State's Big Ten Opponents Revealed

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Closing out September, the Buckeyes will rematch the Illinois Fighting Illini for the second-straight season as they beat the Illini last October in Champaign. The two teams had not met since Nov. 2017, restoring the "Illibuck" trophy rivalry game from previous seasons.

In Week 5, the Buckeyes will head to Iowa City to play the Hawkeyes in what has notoriously been a difficult place for the Buckeyes to win in season's past. Considering coach Kirk Ferentz rides a streak of 13 consecutive winning seasons, there isn't much more that could motivate the Hawkeyes to try and spring an upset.

A warm-up game in Columbus awaits the Buckeyes against the Maryland Terrapins the following week, before a Big Ten title rematch headlines a stacked conference slate opposite the Indiana Hoosiers. A win or loss could go a long way in determining a conference champion in the regular-season, a title game berth or a CFP invitation.

The Buckeyes' schedule doesn't get any easier following their bye week, as they draw the USC Trojans on the road and a re-emerging Oregon Ducks team led by quarterback Dante Moore to open November.

The Buckeyes then close the season with two of their final three games at home, with the season finale coming against the Michigan Wolverines Thanksgiving weekend and games against the Northwestern Wildcats snd Nebraska Cornhuskers (in Lincoln) sandwiched in during back-to-back weeks.

Overall, it's a much more challenging schedule for Ohio State then this past season was. But if it can get through it, it will show that Ryan Day certainly was able to overcome the university from this past season and his early CFP exit, will also keeping the team together through trying times.

Nonetheless, though, Ohio State should be one of the most talked about teams in the entire sport and a team that should certainly be in the thick of the postseason conversation, at least through the beginning of November, if not further into it.

For now, though, only time will tell