The Ohio State Buckeyes will have a really tough route in the 2026 season.
There will be absolutely zero questions about the Ohio State Buckeyes in 2026.
Coming off of back to back seasons that they had very easy regular seasons, they have a total gauntlet ahead of them in 2026. As it stands right now, they have the No. 3, No. 5, No. 6, No. 12, No. 19, and No. 21 teams in the country on their schedule.
These rankings are according to On3, and they could bounce around depending on what site you look at, but the truth is that there are some teams on their schedule next year.
Texas, Indiana, Oregon, USC, Michigan, and Iowa will all get a crack at the Buckeyes in 2026. The critics, of which there are many, will have nothing to say if the Buckeyes survive this schedule.
The big word in that sentence is "if."
Ohio State has been able to get by the past two seasons by playing a very weak regular-season schedule. 2025 was the perfect example of that when their only legitimate competition came in August against Texas.
They got the benefit of playing cupcakes the rest of the year, and when the chips were down, they were not able to get the job done against a couple of the nation's best teams.
Going into 2026, they will need to be ready week after week. There is a world where next year's season is 9-3, but there is also a reality where the Buckeyes go undefeated.
If it is the latter, the Nation better look out.
Ohio State's biggest weakness in 2025 was its physicality up front. It showed up on multiple, weird occasions during the season when they struggled to run the football or struggled to finish drives when they got close to the goal line.
To address this, the Buckeyes did not add anyone in during the offseason, but they did make their biggest splash up front. They were able to retain their top-3 offensive linemen in Carson Hinzman, Luke Montgomery, and Austin Siereveld.
Those three were all a part of the 2024 National Championship run, so they know what it takes to get the job all the way done. They are going to come into the season as motivated as ever to get the job done and get back to the top of the mountain.
The Buckeyes will have to earn it in 2026, and if they do, they will be battle-tested for another long playoff run.