It’s predictable.
Every year, when Ohio State stays atop or begins an ascent up the college football rankings, the trolls come out claiming that the Buckeyes’ schedule simply isn’t up to par. SEC fan chimes in that if Ohio State were in the sweet tea and grits conference, it would be a .500 team.
The false-narrative
Teams of other conferences poke fun of the MAC schools and in-state schools on the schedule. Then it all morphs into an uneducated argument that Ohio State never plays a program of consequence.
Rinse and repeat.
Those arguments and knee-jerk opinions based on the scanning one-year’s worth of a schedule simply don’t hold water. They never did, and they certainly don’t now.
If you are an Ohio State fan, by now you likely know the scheduling philosophy of the football program. It’s been in place for a long time. It’s built around playing at least one significant intersectional non-conference opponent, then maximizing in-state opportunities and home games. That’s more than other blue-bloods have done in the past. It’s nothing new.
In the past years, the Buckeyes’ big, non-conference opponents have included some of the top programs in the country. Let’s get a look at what we’ve seen in the past that many that don’t know the game call “weak.”
Next … Past scheduled non-conference opponents
Ohio State past non-conference opponents
2003 – Washington, NC State
2004 – @ NC State
2005 – Texas
2006 – @Texas
2007 – @ Washington
2008 – @USC
2009 – Navy, USC
2010 – Miami
2011 – @Miami, Colorado
2012 – California
2013 – @California
2014 – Navy, Virginia Tech
2015 – @ Virginia Tech
2016 – @Oklahoma
2017 – Oklahoma, Army
2018 – Oregon State, TCU
2019 – Cincinnati
Now, tell us what’s wrong with that type of scheduling? And before you pooh-pooh on Cincinnati, remember that the Bearcats had to be filled in somewhat last minute for TCU when it backed out of a trip to Columbus. Even better, Cincy was a ranked squad nonetheless last season.
You can also throw up stop signs at teams like Miami and California, but when those teams were scheduled, they were ranked annually — sometimes highly. They are Power Five teams and you simply can’t schedule the same teams over and over.
But it’s not just the past. Ohio State just announced a home-and-home series with Alabama set to take place in 2027 and 2028. That fills out a daunting and impressing looking schedule through the next few years. Here are the teams the Buckeyes are looking forward to facing off with in the not too distant future.
Next … future non-conference Power Five opponents
Upcoming Ohio State non-conference opponents
2020 – @ Oregon
2021 – Oregon
2022 – Notre Dame
2023 – @ Notre Dame
2024 – @ Washington
2025 – @ Texas
2025 – Washington
2026 – Texas
2027 – Alabama
2028 – @ Alabama
2030 – @ Georgia
2031 – Georgia
Pretty solid there too yes? You’d be hard-pressed to find another program scheduling game like this on a consistent and annual basis. Most of these games are going to be prime-time, highly-ranked affairs unless there’s an unforeseen drop-off. Either way, the intent is clear.
Ohio State will schedule anyone, anywhere, at anytime — as long as there’s a reciprocal agreement that the team makes a return trip to Columbus. And that’s really all you can ask right?
So, the next time someone pops off about Ohio State’s scheduling, feel free to pull up this article and let them do a little self-educating. The Buckeyes don’t shy away from playing big games.
In fact, the entire program — from the athletic director to the coaching staff — embraces the challenge and environment it creates for the culture of what players can expect when they come to play on the banks of the Olentangy.
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