The Biggest Concern Nobody Is Talking About for Ohio State

Big Ten media day is in the books, and the Ohio State Buckeyes can finally get to work.

Last year’s College Football Playoff exit against the Miami Hurricanes was six months ago, and it’ll be full steam ahead for Ohio State to put that loss behind them.

With an influx of young talent after several Buckeyes departed for the NFL, head coach Ryan Day will be excited for this upcoming season.

But there’s a concern that nobody’s talking about – and that’s the schedule.

Give Day credit for shaking his “big game struggles” narrative over these last two seasons.

En route to their national championship victory in 2025, the Buckeyes had nothing but difficult big games following their stunning loss against the Michigan Wolverines. Last year, Ohio State dominated Michigan, but slipped up in the Big Ten Championship against Indiana and then again against Miami.

Buckeyes schedule is very difficult

Ohio State’s upcoming schedule is so difficult, that an 11-1 record might be more impressive than other teams that go 12-0, depending on where the defeat would come, of course.

After facing Ball State to start the season, the Buckeyes will travel to Texas to face Arch Manning for a rematch of last season’s opener. In mid-October, Ohio State will face the defending champion Hoosiers in Indiana before facing Lincoln Riley’s Trojans in Southern California – a brutal travel stretch.

If those opponents aren’t good enough, the Buckeyes will return to Columbus and host the Oregon Ducks to open November.

Sure, those are some talented teams. But there’s also some quarterbacks that are expected to be elite.

Ohio State watched Arvell Reese, Sonny Styles and Caleb Downs all get selected in Round 1 of the NFL Draft. Kayden McDonald and Davison Igbinosun were both Round 2 picks. Lorenzo Styles Jr. and Caden Curry were Day 3 picks – but that’s seven defensive starters from last season’s team currently in NFL training camps.

Arch Manning, Dante Moore and Jayden Maiava have legitimate first-round hype next season, and coordinator Matt Patricia’s defense will be tested by all of them on this schedule. Maybe Michigan’s Bryce Underwood could take a leap, adding to the list of talented quarterbacks that will test Ohio State’s defense this fall.

This schedule could be a blessing in disguise.

In previous College Football Playoffs, Ohio State has danced into the postseason without much of a test. But an improved Big Ten should make things interesting, and could help the Buckeyes become more battle-tested ahead of a potential playoff berth this season.

Returning Heisman hopefuls like Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith should give Ohio State a fighting chance in every game. But this is a brutal schedule, and it’ll be very interesting to watch how the Buckeyes handle it in a season with massive expectations.

Add us as a preferred source on Google