Ohio State football is months away from its 2026 season, but the Buckeyes already know the path will be steep. They are scheduled to face six teams that finished the 2025 season ranked in the final rankings, and four opponents in particular — USC, Michigan, Oregon and Texas — loom as the kind of games that can shape a year before it fully begins.
USC comes first on the list of headaches. The Trojans have gone 11-7 against Big Ten opponents since joining the conference ahead of the 2024 season, and they return quarterback Jayden Maiava and their entire starting offensive line. They also signed the No. 1 recruiting class over the offseason. Ohio State will have to meet that version of USC at the LA Coliseum, where the speed of the game and the noise of the setting are likely to make an early-season road test feel even sharper.
Michigan is the opposite kind of problem. Ohio State ended its four-game losing streak against the Wolverines at the end of the last regular season, beating them for the first time since 2019, but the rivalry has not lost its edge. Michigan will have a new head coach in Kyle Whittingham next season, yet it still brings back quarterback Bryce Underwood, wide receiver Nick Marsh and running back Jordan Marshall. The Wolverines also signed a top-25 transfer portal class and added several players from Whittingham’s Utah team, including star defensive end John Henry Daley. That mix of continuity and fresh talent should make the trip to Ohio Stadium another defining game.
Oregon looks just as dangerous on paper. The Ducks reached the semifinals of the College Football Playoffs last year, and they are expected to be among the teams ranked higher than Ohio State in the first preseason top-25 rankings. Quarterback Dante Moore returns, along with eight defensive starters and the entire starting defensive line. Oregon also signed a transfer portal class that ranked inside the top-25, led by former Minnesota safety Koi Perich, who earned All-Big Ten honors in each of his first two years with Minnesota. Ohio State will host Oregon at Ohio Stadium, and the Buckeyes may be staring at one of the season’s most complete opponents.
Texas adds a different kind of threat. Ohio State has won two straight games against the Longhorns over the last two seasons, but it has not played Texas in Austin since 2006, and the next meeting will come against a team that went 10-3 last season and reloaded through the portal. Texas added former Auburn receiver Cam Coleman, former Pittsburgh linebacker Rasheem Biles, former Arizona State running back Raleek Brown and former NC State running back Hollywood Smothers, while Arch Manning returns at quarterback. That combination gives Texas the look of a team that can challenge Ohio State in more ways than one.
For all the attention on the rivalry game and the glamour matchups, the larger picture is simple: Ohio State’s 2026 regular season already looks unusually difficult. The Buckeyes can survive it, but there is little about this schedule that suggests room for a slow start or a soft landing. The calendar says spring is still ahead; the matchup list says the real work has already begun.
