Ohio State Football: How Covid-19 will affect their schedule

The Ohio State football team has a rough schedule on paper, but the pandemic might actually make it easier for them.

Covid-19 has made life difficult for everyone. The pandemic has raged on and forced society to act differently and has changed the rules of social gatherings significantly. Not much good has come of it. But one consequence of it may actually benefit the Buckeyes in the fall.

The 2020 schedule is daunting on paper. With trips to Oregon and Penn State on the docket, Ohio State has its work cut out for them. But with the restrictions surrounding the pandemic, those trips to normally hostile places could end up being a lot easier.

There is already a very small chance that fans end up in Autzen Stadium in September. That game will most likely be played in an empty stadium. That takes away one of the best home-field advantages in all of college football. It makes the game come down to talent and execution.

The trip to Happy Valley will be easier too. That game will almost certainly be played with a reduced amount of fans. Part of what makes this game so tough is the environment. If Penn State can’t use that environment to their advantage, their path to winning becomes much tougher.

Ohio State football games will come down to talent alone

With fans not being at these games, or a reduced amount of fans attending them, it means that these games will be won on talent alone. Whoever has the most talented team that can execute their gameplan the best will emerge as the winner.

This benefits the Buckeyes greatly. Ohio State is the more talented team in every game on their schedule. Without a proper home-field advantage, winning games against them is much harder to do. It will make coaching exponentially more important.

Ohio State was already a big favorite to win the Big Ten. Now with these coronavirus restrictions, it makes them unbelievably hard to take down. It makes their path to the College Football Playoff and the National Championship that much easier.