Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes are still feeling the pain of losing to the Miami Hurricanes in their first College Football Playoff game. Being sent home so quickly leaves a bad feeling for a program.
Unfortunately, Ohio State cannot turn back the clock and play the game again. All the team can do is move forward and get better for the 2026 season.
While the Buckeyes are losing a lot of talent to the NFL, there are a lot of key players returning as well.
Most importantly, Day will have quarterback Julian Sayin and wide receiver Jeremiah Smith back. With those two players leading the way, Ohio State’s offense should be elite once again. Matt Patricia had an impressive first year as the team’s defensive coordinator and the defense should be top-notch again in 2026.
With that being said, the Buckeyes have been slapped with a concerning 2026 outlook.
Ohio State Will Not Have an Easy Road to the College Football Playoff
Looking ahead to the 2026 college football schedule, Ohio State will have it rough.
Even though the Buckeyes are expected to be one of the best teams in the nation, they’re going to have to earn it. They have a tough schedule ahead of them.
According to Brad Crawford of CBS Sports, Ohio State has the most difficult strength of schedule in the entire Big Ten conference.
“Ohio State is our preseason No. 1 at CBS Sports, but the Buckeyes take on five of the next top-10 teams during the regular season. Depending on where Indiana and Texas are ranked in the preseason AP Top 25, no other program in the country has two road games against potentially the nation’s two best teams next season,” Crawford wrote.
“They’ll go to USC as well and play Iowa at Kinnick Stadium, where the Hawkeyes rarely lose. Oregon and Michigan come at home, making this Ohio State schedule arguably the toughest of Ryan Day’s tenure.”
Simply looking at the opponents the Buckeyes will have to play, it will take a lot for them to get into the College Football Playoff. If they can weather the storm and get into the big dance, Ohio State will have proven itself good enough to be an elite championship contender.
The Buckeyes Will Have a Chance to Make a Statement
Throughout the entire 2025 season, the talk was about the Buckeyes not playing anyone of note all year long. That won’t be the case in 2026.
Ohio State will have a chance to shut up the critics. If Day and company can take care of business, there will be no one doubting them by the end of the season.
It’s still way too early to know what to expect from the Buckeyes. On paper, they appear to have the talent to be the best team in the nation. Fans know that Day will get the most out of his roster.
That being said, it will be very interesting to see how the Ohio State football program responds after such a disappointing end to the 2025 campaign.
Ohio State, Ryan Day Slapped With Concerning Outlook for 2026 Season