The Buckeyes weren’t ready to face either Indiana or Miami in the postseason this year.
For as dominant as the Buckeyes were in the regular season, they weren’t battle-tested enough for the Big Ten Championship and College Football Playoff. It showed in those two games.
Ryan Day said before the season started that this was a new team. They weren’t defending their 2024 national championship. That was that team; This was a new team writing its own story.
Unfortunately, this team didn’t benefit from a hard
schedule.
Going into the season, the Buckeyes were expected to have big games against Texas, Illinois, Penn State, and Michigan. Texas was, arguably, the most anticipated season-opener in college football history. Other than that, no game on the Buckeyes’ schedule, besides Michigan for self-explanatory reasons, didn’t turn out to be that much of a marquee game.
Illinois wasn’t as good as I thought it would be. Penn State unexpectedly slipped into college football irrelevancy. Michigan was good, but they weren’t scary by any means. Ohio State handled all three of those teams by at least 18 points.
Great, but the lack of playing close games caught up to the Buckeyes at the worst time.
Julian Sayin was great in the regular season, but his first taste of starting in the postseason wasn’t good. A tougher schedule next season could have him better prepared for the Big Ten Championship and the College Football Playoff.
The 2024 Buckeyes faced adversity in the regular season. They played at Oregon and lost by one point. Three weeks later, they fell behind Penn State 10-0 early, before rallying for a 20-13 win. Not to mention, the Buckeyes trailed Indiana 7-0 early in the penultimate game of the regular season.
Then, of course, there was the following week.
This past year’s team cruised through the regular season with little resistance. But that was both a blessing and a curse. When they faced tough competition in the playoffs, every flaw about this Buckeyes team that wasn’t exposed in the regular season became exposed in the CFP.
In 2026, the Buckeyes’ schedule will be much more difficult — that’s a good thing.
While we don’t know the order of the Big Ten schedule, except for hosting Michigan the last week of the regular season, the opponents will be a lot harder.
The Buckeyes will host Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Northwestern, and Oregon. Those games won’t be cakewalks. On the road, the Buckeyes will play at Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, and USC. None of those games will be easy.
Not to mention, in the non-conference part of the season, the Buckeyes won’t get to play an FCS opponent like they did last season. They get home games against Ball State and Kent State, with a road game at Texas in Week 2.
This schedule will have the Buckeyes more prepared for the postseason in 2026, assuming they make it. It will benefit Sayin and test whatever weaknesses they have next season.
Ohio State wasn’t battle-tested going into the postseason this year. That will change in 2026.
