Ohio State could lose 3 or 4 games this fall and I am hyped!

TL;DR

Ohio State's 2026 football schedule is set to be one of the toughest in program history, potentially leading to 3 or 4 losses. Fans are excited for a more competitive season that promises suspense and challenge.

Key points

Ohio State's 2026 schedule is one of the toughest in program history.
The team could lose 3 or 4 games this season.
Key opponents include Texas, Indiana, USC, Oregon, and Michigan.
The schedule promises more suspense and challenge for fans.
Ohio State has a greater margin for error in the playoff era.

Ohio State BuckeyesTexas LonghornsIndiana HoosiersUSC Trojans

Ohio State Buckeyes fans yell on a Purdue Boilermakers third down during the NCAA football game at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Ind. on Nov. 8, 2025. Ohio State won 34-10. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images ***From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about hype. What are you most hyped about heading into the 2026-27 season? You can catch up on all of the******Theme Week content here******and all of our******”Hype Week” articles here******.*** As Ohio State fans, we have lived pretty damn charmed lives for nearly the totality of the 21st Century. Since Jim Tressel arrived on campus in 2001, the Buckeyes have been damn-near dominant every season, blowing out competition and racking up 10 wins in 21 seasons this millennium. The only years that didn’t hit double-digit victories were in Tressel’s first and fourth seasons, the Luke Fickell fiasco year in 2011, and the COVID-shortened season in 2020, in which OSU went 7-1. It has essentially become an annual tradition that you could look at Ohio State’s schedule post-spring and count at least 10 wins without having to put much thought into it. That has been great for the Buckeyes and has led to a whole lot of wins, but it hasn’t always been good for the fans. Sure, I have loved watching my alma mater dominate their opponents, but there have been stretches over the years where you could go a month to six weeks without OSU having to break much of a sweat to win by 35. Again, that’s great for the team and coaches, but it doesn’t do a whole lot to provide much intrigue or entertainment for the fans who build entire fall weekends around the team. Well, my friends, this year is going to be different. This year’s schedule feels like it was built in a lab to push, test, and potentially torture the Ohio State football team. And while that means that we might have to deal with more regular-season losses than we have grown accustomed to, in this expanded College Football Playoff era, blue bloods like the Buckeyes have a far greater margin for error than ever before. So, I would much prefer to have not only a more entertaining product to watch every Saturday, but also for Ohio State to be more battle-ready when the postseason rolls around. For most of the Ryan Day era, Ohio State has lived in a comfortable reality: nine or 10 games that their third-stringers could win, and two (maybe three) that were legitimately in doubt. But that will not be the case in 2026. This is a schedule that — without exaggeration — could be the most difficult in , at least this century, and that’s not factoring in any potential postseason matchups either.

Q&A

What teams will Ohio State face in the 2026 football season?

Ohio State will face teams including Texas, Indiana, USC, Oregon, and Michigan in the 2026 season.

Why is Ohio State's 2026 schedule considered difficult?

The schedule includes multiple ranked opponents and challenging away games, making it one of the toughest in recent history.

How many games could Ohio State potentially lose in the 2026 season?

Ohio State could potentially lose 3 or 4 games during the 2026 season due to the challenging schedule.

What impact does the 2026 schedule have on Ohio State's playoff chances?

Despite a tougher schedule, Ohio State has a greater margin for error in the expanded College Football Playoff era.

Ohio State could lose 3 or 4 games this fall and I am hyped!

TL;DR

Key points

Q&A

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