Ohio State home and away series with Alabama could be facing cancellation

Should the stars align appropriately, Ohio State could meet Alabama in the College Football Playoff Championship Game on January 19th at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium.

After that, it could take some time and a lot of luck before the Buckeyes and Crimson Tide see each other on opposite sides of a football field, despite the fact that the schools had announced way back in 2020 a home and away series for the 2027 and 2028 seasons.

According to former Alabama running back Mark Ingram, sources have told him that the home and away series between Alabama and Ohio State could be cancelled in the near future.

“These home and away games, like Alabama has a home and away game with Ohio State... Like, why would you even do that? You know what I mean?” said the former Heisman Trophy winner recently on the Triple Option Podcast. “Little birds, they’re talking about trying to not do that anymore. Like, I don’t know if it’s gonna get done or not, but it’s definitely on the radar to get that off the schedule. You know what I mean, cause what benefit does it do to you if you play that game close and they’re gonna hold it against you when it’s time to be voted into the playoff?”

Ingram is most likely referring to the possibility of being shut out of the College Playoff bracket after taking a loss against a highly ranked out of conference opponent on the schedule, instead of just signing off to play against easier competition to elevate the probability of a higher win-loss record.

One clear example of this could be the Texas Longhorns, who started the season ranked nationally No. 1 before losing the season opener to the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes by 14-7, a game that head coach Texas’ head coach Steve Sarkisian pointed as the reason for the Longhorns being left out of this year’s CFP Bracket.

"Do you want us not to schedule Ohio State? Because if we're a 10-2 team right now, this isn't a discussion. We're in the playoff. But we were willing to go up there and play that game."

Of course, Texas also ended up losing to an unranked Florida Gators team in October, and against the then No. 5 team in the nation, Georgia Bulldogs, in mid November. When looking at the strength of schedule as a criterion for CFP consideration, it’s conceivable that the loss against the Gators is what hurt Texas’ chances the most.

While Sarkisian stated that Texas would reconsider its nonconference scheduling philosophy, he also said that the Longhorns would honor the return nonconference games with Ohio State in 2026 and Michigan in 2027.

And even former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer expressed his opinion against the Buckeyes returning the visit to Texas next year, saying, “If I’m [current Ohio State head coach] Ryan Day, I don’t play that game at Texas next year", for the same reasons.

The Ohio State-Alabama home and away series had been announced originally in 2020, with the first game being played at Columbus on Sept. 18, 2027, before traveling to Tuscaloosa the following season on Sept. 9, 2028.

Ohio State has only met Alabama five times in its history, claiming one win and losing four times, with all games being played in neutral locations. The Buckeyes only victory came in the 2015 Sugar Bowl, a CFP semifinal that set up Ohio State’s 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship victory over Oregon. Meanwhile, the last game between them was in Miami Gardens, the College Football Playoff Championship Game for the 2020 season, with the Tide taking the win by 52-24.

Ohio State and Alabama are the two winningest programs in college football history in terms of winning percentage, with the Buckeyes coming in first at .737 (990-336-53) and the Crimson Tide in second, at .734 (985-344-43.)