COLUMBUS, Ohio — On Tuesday evening, the Big Ten Conference revealed its 2026 football schedule.

Ohio State will host seven games next fall, including non-conference matchups in Ohio Stadium against two opponents, and welcomes Michigan, Oregon, Illinois, Northwestern, and Maryland to their home stadium.

What You Need To Know

The Buckeyes’ upcoming games feature two College Football Playoff semifinalists

In the previous season, the nine Big Ten rivals on the Buckeyes’ 2026 schedule posted a 51-30 conference record

At Ohio Stadium, the conference home games for the Big Ten are five in total, beginning with Illinois on Sept. 10

The Buckeyes’ upcoming games feature two College Football Playoff semifinalists: Indiana (away) and Oregon (home). They will also travel to Texas to finish their home-and-home series. Next season, nine of Ohio State’s 12 regular-season adversaries competed in the CFP or a bowl game, with seven securing at least nine victories in 2025.

In the previous season, the nine Big Ten rivals on the Buckeyes’ 2026 schedule posted a 51-30 conference record, achieving a .629 win rate.

The 2026 non-conference schedule for Ohio State, which was announced earlier, features a season-opening game against Ball State on September 5th, a September 12th trip to Austin to play the Texas Longhorns, and a home game against Kent State on September 26th. In 2006, Ohio State last visited Texas, winning against the No. 2 Longhorns with a score of 24-7, when the Buckeyes were ranked No. 1.

At Ohio Stadium, the conference home games for the Big Ten are five in total, beginning with Illinois on Sept. 10. Illinois’ last visit was in 2017, and Northwestern’s last trip to Columbus was in 2016. Oregon’s upcoming game at Ohio Stadium marks their first visit as a Big Ten member, following their 2021 appearance.

Ohio State will play four Big Ten road games, with one being at Iowa on October 1st. Since 2008, the Buckeyes have not competed at USC, and 2017 will be the last time they played at Iowa’s Kinnick Stadium before this trip.

In 2026, there’s one week off, scheduled for October 24th, which falls between away games at Indiana and USC.

The Big Ten championship game will take place on December 5th at Lucas Oil Stadium, featuring 18 teams competing for an automatic bid to the College Football Playoffs.

Under the new arrangements, the 18 Big Ten Conference teams will each play nine conference games annually. 

Over a five-year span, every team will face each conference opponent at least twice, but no more than three times. Each of the 18 Big Ten Conference teams will continue to have a nine-game intra-conference schedule per season. 

Within a five-year timeframe, teams will play every other conference opponent a minimum of two times and a maximum of three times.

 Here’s the buckeyes from start to finish for 2026:

Sept. 5 – Ball State
Sept. 12 – at Texas
Sept. 19 – Kent State
Sept. 26 – Illinois
Oct. 3 – at Iowa
Oct. 10 – Maryland
Oct. 17 – at Indiana
Oct. 24 – Off
Oct. 31 – at USC
Nov. 7 – Oregon
Nov. 14 – Northwestern
Nov. 21 – at Nebraska
Nov. 28 – Michigan
Dec. 5 – Big Ten Championship Game (Lucas Oil Stadium; Indianapolis)

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