Ohio State’s path through October looks less like a month on the schedule and more like a test designed to expose every flaw.
That’s the reality facing Ryan Day in year eight. Even with a national championship a year and a half ago, he needs this team to show it can do more than cruise through the regular season and then fade when the CFP arrives. Last year’s winless playoff run still hangs over the program, and an undefeated record doesn’t mean nearly as much if the Big Ten isn’t won and the Buckeyes are done the first time they get a shot at the postseason stage.
Not many people are penciling in a spotless regular season this fall, and it’s easy to see why. Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde labeled Ohio State’s schedule the toughest overall, and pointed to a brutal run that includes Iowa at Kinnick Stadium, Maryland at the “Shoe,” Iowa in Bloomington, and USC in LA on Halloween night.
“If the Buckeyes were underprepared for the College Football Playoff last year after facing fairly light regular-season competition, they might be overprepared this year,” Forde wrote.
The trip to Iowa is the kind of game that sticks with a coach. Day was on Urban Meyer’s staff in 2017, the last time Ohio State went to Iowa City, and the Buckeyes left with a loss that still matters in the broader story of that season.
The offense managed 24 points, but the defense surrendered 55, and that defeat helped knock Ohio State out of the CFP field even after a Big Ten title. Two SEC teams got in, along with the ACC and Big 12 champions, while the Buckeyes were left out.
The calendar doesn’t really care about old scars, but Day probably remembers that Kinnick night just fine.
Maryland, meanwhile, has all the markings of a classic letdown spot. The Terps are not expected to be a serious threat under Mike Locksley, but they can’t be treated like a formality either, especially with Indiana waiting the next week in a Big Ten Championship Game rematch. Ohio State should handle Maryland comfortably, but the Buckeyes still need discipline, and quarterback Malik Washington could become a real wrinkle if he makes a second-year jump.
The hardest part of the month may be even worse than that stretch on its own. October is the toughest month on Ohio State’s slate, but the grindiest run begins with the defending champs, carries through the bye week against USC, and ends with Oregon coming to town on November 7.
The Ducks are expected to sit near the top of the Big Ten with Indiana and Ohio State, and they may be the most complete team on the Buckeyes’ schedule. Texas, by comparison, enters Week 2 dealing with a left tackle issue, as Trevor Goosby works back from a bone bruise. He could return, but the source material makes clear he likely won’t be close to 100 percent when Ohio State visits Austin.
Oregon brings depth, pedigree and a team that’s been knocking on the door for years. For Ohio State, that’s the kind of stretch that can either harden a contender or break one.
Buckle up, Buckeye fans.
In Other News...
James Laurinaitis Is Driving Ohio State's Next Big Recruiting Push
With Ohio State moving deeper into its preseason build-up and the first meaningful checkpoints of the fall drawing closer, the recruiting work around the program has not slowed down. James Laurinaitis has been a central figure in that effort, staying active with priority targets as the Buckeyes balance scrimmages, team preparation and the usual run-up to a season opener.
One of the more notable names on the calendar is Tahj Gray, the New Jersey linebacker whose interest in Ohio State has been gaining traction. His trip later this month gives the Buckeyes another chance to make an impression on a player the staff clearly values, and it fits into the larger push to keep relationships warm while the season's early chaos starts to take over. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio States New Offense Is Already Sending A Clear Message
Arthur Smith has barely gotten settled as Ohio States new offensive coordinator, but the early feedback from inside the program already points to a different feel on that side of the ball. Smith replaced Brian Hartline after Hartline left to become head coach at USF, and the Buckeyes are hoping the change helps sharpen an offense that finished last season 26th nationally in yards per game.
Isaiah Wests comments offered one of the first public hints at how that shift is being received in Columbus. He spoke positively about Smiths approach and the way the offense is being pared down into something more focused, a tone that suggests the staff wants clarity and repetition to matter more than volume. For a program trying to take a step forward, the message is already pretty clear: simpler may be the starting point, and how quickly that approach translates on Saturdays will be worth watching. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio States 2026 Defense Has One Experience Debate Fans Need To See
Matt Patricias view of Ohio States 2026 defense comes down to a familiar offseason question: how much experience really matters when the lineup changes? The Buckeyes are looking at a projected starting group that has fewer combined defensive snaps than the 2025 starters, which would seem to suggest a dip in proven production at first glance. But Patricias broader assessment points beyond the first unit and into the full rotation, where the roster picture looks a little different.
The more revealing part of the comparison is the top 15 defenders, where the 2026 group has more total snaps than the same tier from 2025. That suggests Ohio State may not have the same kind of veteran heft in its starting lineup, but it does have more accumulated game reps across the depth chart, which matters over the course of a season. For a defense trying to hold up in the Big Ten and beyond, the debate is less about whether the Buckeyes are experienced and more about where that experience is concentrated. [Read more 🡒]