The always awesome Bill Bender of The Sporting News, released a piece ranking all 18 of the Big Ten schools by strength of schedule recently, and as expected, Ohio State landed in the middle of the pack. The Buckeyes’ schedule was ranked seventh by the media outlet’s metrics and this feels accurate at first glance.
Bender lists out his criteria for toughness including ranked opponents and location of the games. Although I would have added a few more factors, the list feels fairly accurate. As most have discussed all offseason, Ohio State came out very lucky with the scheduling with only three marquis games for the Buckeyes.
Ohio State has to play Oregon and Penn State in enemy territory, but gets Michigan at home and with the expanded playoffs, the Buckeyes can realistically lose two of these games and still sneak in. This really does feel like an “If not now, then when” type of season for Ryan Day.
Ohio State has the most cupcake schedule next year. Ryan Day is most definitely gone if they don’t make an extended playoff appearance this season https://t.co/cOimMfGiQ9
— Untitled Podcast (@Untitled_ThePod) June 12, 2024
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