How Does Ohio State’s 2025 Schedule Rank?

The 2025 Big Ten Media Days are almost done, and a major topic of discussion has been about scheduling. Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti poured gasoline on the proverbial fire when asked about Indiana’s scheduling philosophy, saying, “…we figured we would just adopt SEC scheduling philosophy.“.

I will have more to write about the 2025 Big Ten Media Days next week, when everything has concluded. With scheduling being such a prominent topic this week, as well as Ohio State starting fall camp on July 31st, I figured this was as good a time as any to rank the 12 games on Ohio State’s 2025 schedule, from least difficult to first.

12. Grambling State (09/06/2025, 3:30pm ET kickoff, The Big Ten Network) ~ A first time ever meeting between Grambling State and Ohio State is a major mismatch. I will have more to write about this when it is actually game week, but Ohio State usually handles FCS opponents without too much stress or effort.

11. Ohio University (09/13/2025, 7pm ET kickoff, Peacock) ~ The defending 2024 MAC champion will be making their first trip back to Ohio Stadium since the 2010 game, with the infamous Rufus The Bobcat attack on Brutus Buckeye. Here is to thinking both Brutus and the Ohio State football team will be ready for anything.

10. at Purdue (11/08/2025, Kickoff Time & Network TBD) ~ It was very tempting to put this game in West Lafayette at number 11, but the past issues Ohio State has had with Purdue motivated me to put them here in the rankings. Year one for new head coach Barry Odom will probably be a stressful one.

9. UCLA (11/15/2025, Kickoff Time & Network TBD) ~ UCLA will be making their first trip to Ohio Stadium since 1999, when Ohio State defeated UCLA 42-20. This will be the Bruins’ first visit to Columbus as a conference foe.

8. Rutgers (11/22/2025, Kickoff Time & Network TBD) ~ Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano usually has a few tricks in his bag for whenever the Scarlet Knights play the Buckeyes. This will be the last Ohio State regular season home game of the 2025 season. Here is to hoping that there is not another confrontation like the 2022 game, when former Ohio State punter Jesse Mirco ran a fake punt after Ohio State was up by 39 points.

7. at Wisconsin (10/18/2025, Kickoff Time & Network TBD) ~ Ordinarily, any game at Wisconsin would be considered more challenging. Unfortunately for Luke Fickell, this game will be in the middle of one of The Big Ten’s most grueling 2025 schedules, and I believe Ohio State will be ready for the Badgers.

6. Minnesota (10/04/2025, Kickoff Time & Network TBD) ~ The Golden Gophers might be undefeated when they come into Columbus for the first weekend of October. Ohio State will be coming off a West Coast trip and cannot afford to be sluggish against P.J. Fleck’s team. This one has all the markings of a traditional Woody Hayes “3 Yards And A Cloud Of Dust” Big Ten game.

5. at Washington (09/27/2025, Kickoff Time & Network TBD) ~ Speaking of that West Coast trip, the Huskies are definitely one of my sleeper teams within The Big Ten. Husky Stadium should be rocking for the Buckeyes’ first visit there since 2007.

4. at Illinois (10/11/2025, Kickoff Time & Network TBD) ~ The aforementioned game versus Minnesota, as well as the fact that Bret Bielema’s team is being considered one of The Big Ten’s best, has me on high alert for this one. This will be Ryan Day’s first trip to Champaign, as the Buckeyes last played there in 2015 (Ohio State 28, Illinois 3).

3. Penn State (11/01/2025, Kickoff Time & Network TBD) ~ Halloween weekend, and this one is pivotal within The Big Ten conference race in 2025. Something to keep in mind is both teams will be coming into this game well-rested after a bye week on October 25th.

2. Texas (08/30/2025, 12pm ET, Fox) ~ It was so tempting to put this game first, considering the hype for both teams heading into the 2025 season. Highly touted Texas QB Arch Manning will get to face a newly configured Ohio State defense of Matt Patricia. Big Noon, indeed.

1. At Michigan (11/25/2025, 12pm ET, Fox) ~ Four straight years of frustrating losses to “That Team Up North” prompted me to put this as Ohio State’s most difficult game. Ryan Day has won a national championship, and is still going to be asked if this is the year Ohio State can win THE GAME.

That is how I see it shaping up for the 2025 season. Some easy ones, some games that Ohio State fans may need to be prepared for some anxious moments until the 4th quarter, and a few that could truly go either way. As always, let me know what you think in the comments or on X @chipminnich. Thanks as always for reading.