The Ohio State Buckeyes have their eyes on a National Championship this season, which is not a secret. Under Ryan Day, Ohio State has done a great job winning the games they are expected to win, but have not been on the favorable side of the outcome the last few seasons, especially against That Team Up North. Each game this season is important, and the approach will still be to take one game at a time, but some games dont carry the same weight as the others, so we are presenting which games will matter the most, starting at the bottom, as the Buckeyes chase their first title since 2014, which was the first year of the 4-team playoff

12 – Western Michigan – September 7 | Week 2

The second game of the season is always a good game to see the adjustments made after the first game, which is normally shaking off the rust. The bad news for the Broncos is that they wont have much f a chance in this game. 

11 – Marshall – September 21 | Week 4

The Buckeyes will be coming off their first bye week of the season, and will face a Thundering Herd team who look to make some noise in the Sun Belt this season. This will be the second ever matchup between the two teams, the first since thr 2004 season where Ohio State won 24-21. My Huntington, WV family ties are another factor of making me have this take the second to last spot in a game that should be over by halftime.

10 – Akron – August 31 | Week 1

The home opener is always an exciting time for Buckeye fans, and this will be the first time we will get to see what the team will look like, and the first chance to see what incoming transfers Will Howard, Caleb Downs, and Quinshon Judkins can do. This game should be put away early and we hopefully get to see the depth of this roster in a season where experience can be invaluable if they end up playing 16 games.

9 – Purdue – November 9 | Week 11

Ohio State will return home to host the Boilermakers after their trip to Happy Valley, which is hopefully a win. It will be the first game of their final stretch of the season, and first game payed after the initial College Football Playoff Committee rankings. Of the Big Ten opponents this season, Purdue is the one that does not present the biggest challenge, but a game the Buckeyes need to win regardless.

8 – Northwestern- November 16 | Week 12

The Buckeyes will travel to Chicago, IL to play at Wrigley Field (why not Soldier Field?!) against Northwestern, who is rebuilding their stadium. The Wildcats were a surprise team last year after letting go of legend Pat Fitzgerald, but they dont have the athletes to keep up with the Buckeyes. The only good thing about this game is possibly the venue, but playing on a baseball field still feels underwhelming. 

7 – Michigan State- September 28 | Week 5

The Spartans will host the Buckeyes in Ohio States first Big Ten game of the season. It will be the first away game for the Buckeyes as well this season, which will be good experience in preparation for the game in Eugene two weeks later. The Spartans have grabbed some solid players this offseason in the transfer portal, but the good news is that the chance of snow is very minimal.

6 – Nebraska – October 26 | Week 9

The Cornhuskers should bring a challenge for the Buckeyes this season, under Matt Rhule’s second season and freshman Dylan Raiola will have some experience going into this game. No official kickoff time has been announced yet, but this game could get the Big Noon Kickoff treatment depending on how well the Cornhuskers season is going.

5 – Indiana – November 23 | Week 13

The penultimate game of the season, and the last game before The Game. The Buckeyes will need to keep focused and stay healthy for the following week, and the Hoosiers are looking to prove something this season with new head coach Curt Cignetti. One other parallel with the 2014 season is that the Buckeyes played the Hoosiers before hosting the Wolverines in their path to the National Championship. 

4 – Iowa – October 5 | Week 6

The Hawkeyes defense will be a great test for Ohio State before their trip to Oregon the following week. Iowa could go into this game undefeated, and I will be curious to see how different this offense will look for Iowa now that Brian Ferentz is not the OC. The Buckeyes will need to stay sharp and stay healthy against a sneaky good test.

3 – Penn State – November 2 | Week 10

It was already announced that this game will not be a White Out game, but the Buckeyes vs Nittany Lions is always must watch television. Outside of the Oregon game, this is the most important away game, and Penn State will be looking for a way to stay at the top of the Big Ten rankings to try and earn a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game. 

2 – Oregon – October 12 | Week 7

This is already dubbed one of the most important games of the season, and Joel Klatt announced this one will be under the lights on NBC with a 7:30pm kickoff. My personal prediction is that this game will have a rematch in Indianapolis, but this does not mean the stakes of this game are any less. Ohio State and Oregon made the most moves this offseason and it will be a clash of two of the most talented teams in the country. This will very likely be a battle of two of the top 5 teams in the country. 

1 – Michigan – November 30 | Week 14

Regrdless of all of the changes to the conference format and the expansion of the 12 team playoff, this has to be the most important game. It is The Game for a reason. Ryan Day holding a 1-3 record at the moment I am sure has kept him up at night for years now, and he finally has a staff that he can trust and a playcaller in Chip Kelly that will allow him to be more of a manager. I think that was the difference in last years game, with some questionable play calling decisions, especially with the special teams that could have been the difference for competing for a National Championship last season. This game is a must win regardless of the year or record, but for thsi group of seniors, a pair of gold pants would mean the world. 

Photo Credit – Adam Cairns | Columbus Dispatch