Heading into the 2026 season, Ohio State fans had this coming stretch circled on the calendar.
Over the next four weeks, the Buckeyes will take trips to No. 5 Indiana and No. 19 USC, then return home for a matchup against Oregon. Three marquee matchups over their next three games will put to the test whether Ryan Day’s group has what it takes to compete for a national title this year.
However, what had previously looked like a potential break in the action prior to the season finale against Michigan
has become a complete gauntlet, as both Northwestern and Nebraska have far exceeded expectations.
The Wildcats sit at 4-1 on the season and are ranked No. 25 in the latest AP Poll, their only loss coming by one score on the road at Indiana in Week 3.
The Northwestern offense, now under the direction of Chip Kelly, ranks in the top 40 nationally, averaging 35.4 points per game, and quarterback Aidan Chiles is having a career year, completing 71.4% of his passes with nine touchdowns and zero interceptions.
Nebraska, meanwhile, is 5-1 coming off a tough loss to the Hoosiers — a game in which they led by two scores in the fourth quarter before letting it slip away. The Cornhuskers have looked much improved under transfer QB Anthony Colandrea, and Matt Rhule’s defense ranks 17th in the country allowing only 15.17 points per game.
Ohio State gets Northwestern at home on Nov. 14, and if they handle business over the Indiana-USC-Oregon stretch they will be coming into that game with a ton of confidence, which would obviously be beneficial and a good sign of things to come.
That trip to Lincoln on Nov. 21 shouldn’t be slept on, though, as the Huskers just gave the defending national champs all they could handle at Memorial Stadium this past weekend.
The season, of course, then concludes with The Game.
The Buckeyes will host Michigan this time around after a 27-9 victory in Ann Arbor in 2025. Day has yet to defeat the Wolverines in Columbus since taking over as Ohio State’s head coach, dropping the last two meetings in Columbus in 2022 and 2024. Ohio State had won the prior nine matchups at Ohio Stadium dating back to 2002.
It has not been a good year for the Wolverines, getting off to a 3-2 start with an 0-2 mark in Big Ten play. Bryce Underwood has severely underperformed to this point, completing less than 60% of his passes with five touchdowns to four interceptions.
Michigan has a lot of time between now and Nov. 28 to right the ship, but it has been an uninspiring start for new head coach Kyle Whittingham.
None of that will matter when Ohio State and Michigan meet the weekend after Thanksgiving. The records and the performances leading into The Game rarely prove to have any impact on the difficulty and intensity of the rivalry, and Day still has something to prove as he looks to defend his home turf against The Team Up North.
That is how the rest of the season looks for Ohio State. Six games against six quality opponents, most of which are far better than the number (or lack thereof) next to their name would suggest.
Indiana, USC and Oregon are the obvious gauntlet, but Northwestern, Nebraska and obviously Michigan are all good enough to provide a real challenge to the Buckeyes.
If Ohio State is going to make the College Football Playoff this season, they are going to have to earn it.
