Ohio State’s path to the 2026 National Championship is loaded from the jump, and there’s no soft landing anywhere on the calendar.
The Buckeyes are staring at one of the toughest schedules the sport can throw at a team. To get where they want to go, they’ll have to navigate at least 10 opponents ranked in CBS Sports’ top 20.
The Big Ten slate alone is brutal. Ohio State already has Texas at No.
2, Oregon at No. 3, Indiana at No.
6, USC at No. 14, Michigan at No.
16, Iowa at No. 23 and Illinois at No. 28 on the schedule.
And that’s just the regular season.
If the Buckeyes do what they want to do and win the Big Ten Championship, they’ll still have to get through a title game opponent that will be at least a top-10 team. From there, the playoff road could include three or four more games, and those matchups would feature some combination of the top-12 teams in the country.
Put it all together, and Ohio State could end up facing 10 teams in the top 15 and 12 teams in the top 30.
That’s why this schedule stands out so sharply. Whether you’re pulling for the Buckeyes or rooting against them, there’s no denying the grind. In a season where Ohio State needs a deep playoff run after what happened last year, the road could hardly be tougher.
There’s also a broader conversation here about balance in the Big Ten. Ohio State’s draw looks nothing like Penn State’s, and that gap is a direct result of being in a league with 18 teams.
Bottom line: the Buckeyes have a mountain to climb. It could be the most demanding season Ryan Day has faced at any level, and Ohio State will need to treat every day like it matters.
In Other News...
Michigan Just Took Another Major Hit Behind The Scenes
Michigans athletic department is dealing with another round of turbulence behind the scenes, with athletic director Warde Manuel reportedly expected to exit at the end of the calendar year. The move comes after an outside firm examined the culture inside the department, though the findings have not been made public, leaving plenty of questions about what prompted the latest shake-up in Ann Arbor.
For Ohio State, the news serves as another reminder of how different things have looked across the rivalry when it comes to athletic department stability. The Buckeyes have largely avoided the kind of public scandal and internal uncertainty now hovering over Michigan, and that contrast matters in a sport where off-field order can be just as important as what happens on game day. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessee Development Could Suddenly Reshape Ohio States Running Back Board
A recruiting domino in Tennessee is starting to matter well beyond Knoxville. Asa Barnes, the Tennessee running back target from the Volunteer State, is leaning toward staying home, and that could help clarify the top of the board for a pair of programs watching the same market closely. For Ohio State, the ripple effect is less about Barnes himself and more about how one decision can shape the path for another back the Buckeyes have their eyes on.
David Gabriel Georges is the name to watch next, with his choice expected to come after Barnes sorts out his future. Tennessee and Ohio State are both positioned around that decision, but the two schools do not present the same kind of running back picture, and that contrast could wind up mattering as the process unfolds. If Barnes lands where the momentum suggests, the rest of the board may start to move in a direction that gives the Buckeyes a cleaner read on where they stand. [Read more 🡒]
Ryan Day Just Hit The Urban Meyer Comparison Fans Dread
Ryan Days Ohio State tenure has now reached the point where the comparisons to Urban Meyer are no longer just about style or expectations. Through seven seasons, the two coaches have lived in the same rarefied air in Columbus, each delivering a national championship and multiple Big Ten crowns while navigating very different versions of college football. The numbers are close enough to invite the conversation, and the circumstances around those numbers are different enough to keep it from being a simple one-to-one matchup.
The larger question is how to weigh all of it. Day has had to coach through the pandemic, the transfer-portal era and a sport that keeps changing around him, while Ohio States path through the Big Ten has also been shaped by expansion and a Michigan scandal that altered the landscape. So the Meyer comparison is flattering on one hand and nerve-wracking on the other, because it puts Day in the same sentence as a standard Buckeye fans still remember vividly. [Read more 🡒]