Ohio State's Big Ten Opponents Set Through 2028, Buckeyes Headed Out West On Annual Basis

COLUMBUS — Get ready to hit the Oregon Trail next year, Buckeye fans.

The Big Ten Conference has announced the home and away opponents for all 18 football programs over the next five years. The dates for the 2024 games will be announced in the coming weeks, while the dates for the 2025-2028 games will be announced at much later dates.

Ohio State’s 2024 Big Ten schedule will consist of five home conference games and four road conference games. The number of road and home games will then flip flop each year. In 2025, there will be four home conference games and five road conference games, and so on.

The 2024 schedule for the Buckeyes will see them hosting Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, and Purdue. They will travel to Michigan State, Northwestern, Oregon, and Penn State.

The trip to Oregon is not a surprise for Ohio State, as their scheduled game at Oregon in 2020 was canceled due to the pandemic. Oregon played at Ohio State in 2021, so this was an easy opportunity for the Big Ten to “make good” for the Ducks.

Also as expected, Ohio State will only be making one trip out west per year over the next five years. In 2025 they head to Washington, followed by USC in 2026, then back out to Oregon in 2027, before finally settling into the Rose Bowl at UCLA in 2028.

The Big Ten is referring to this new schedule plan as the “Flex Protect XVIII Model,” which has replaced the “Flex Protect Plus Model,” which was released back in June and was made prior to the additions this summer of the University of Washington and the University of Oregon.

With the Flex Protect XVIII Model, each Big Ten team will play home and away against every other team at least once in a span of five years. Outside of protected rivalries, no teams will play each other more than three times or fewer than two times over those five years. Members will continue to play nine conference games each year.

Ohio State’s conference schedules for the next five years include three games against eight schools (Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Oregon, Penn State, Purdue and Rutgers), two games against eight schools (Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan State, UCLA, USC, Washington and Wisconsin) and an annual game against protected opponent Michigan.

The protected rivalries are: Ohio State/Michigan; Illinois/Northwestern; Illinois/Purdue; Indiana/Purdue; Iowa/Minnesota; Iowa/Nebraska; Iowa/Wisconsin; Maryland/Rutgers; Michigan/Michigan State; Minnesota/Wisconsin; Oregon/Washington; and UCLA/USC.

Aside from OSU’s 2024 schedule, there are also some very interesting non-conference games which will also add drama to the schedules. For instance, the Buckeyes’ 2025 home schedule will feature games against Texas, Penn State, and UCLA, while the road schedule that year will feature trips to Michigan, Washington, and Wisconsin.

In 2026, the Buckeyes will play at Texas, at Nebraska, at Iowa, and at USC. They will host the likes of Michigan and Oregon. The 2027 schedule features home games against Alabama and USC, with road games at Michigan and Oregon. In 2028, Ohio State will play at Alabama, Penn State, and UCLA, while hosting Michigan, Washington, and Wisconsin.

The full list of Ohio State’s Big Ten opponents through 2028 can be found below.

2024 Ohio State Schedule

Aug. 31 – Southern Mississippi
Sept. 7 – Western Michigan
Sept. 21 – Marshall

Big Ten Home Games
Indiana
Iowa
Michigan
Nebraska
Purdue

Big Ten Away Games
Michigan State
Northwestern
Oregon
Penn State

2025 Ohio State Schedule

Aug. 30 – Texas
Sept. 13 – Ohio
Oct. 18 – UConn

Big Ten Home Games
Minnesota
Penn State
Rutgers
UCLA

Big Ten Away Games
Illinois
Michigan
Purdue
Washington
Wisconsin

2026 Ohio State Schedule

Sept. 5 – Ball State
Sept. 12 – at Texas
Sept. 19 – Kent State

Big Ten Home Games
Illinois
Maryland
Michigan
Northwestern
Oregon