Ohio State Football: Ranking OSU’s remaining Big Ten opponents

The Ohio State football team’s remaining Big Ten schedule kicks off Saturday afternoon at Rutgers in the Buckeyes second conference matchup. It’s been a disappointing start to the season for Ryan Day’s team. Not only losing to Oregon and struggling to put away Minnesota and Tulsa but also having to change defensive play callers and deal with a potential quarterback battle. With big games looming next month and beyond, here are my tier rankings for the rest of Ohio State’s opponents.

Tier #1: Penn State, Michigan, and Michigan State

James Franklin has his team looking like a true threat through four games, winning by an average of 16.5 points, as Sean Clifford and the defense have improved significantly. The Nittany Lions are ranked 12th in the nation according to Jeff Sagarin’s ratings. Clifford could give the Buckeyes problems in Columbus on Oct. 30 alongside Jahan Dotson and Parker Washington, who constantly look to stretch the field vertically.

Michigan and Michigan State aren’t able to move the ball as effectively through the air but both teams are dangerous on the ground. We’ve already seen Minnesota and Oregon confuse OSU’s run defense, and it’s very possible that Blake Corum, Hassan Haskins, or Kenneth Walker III will do the same. Michigan has the 5th highest-rated rush offense in the country and will host Ohio State on Nov. 27. Michigan State will travel to Columbus the week before.

Tier #2: Maryland, Indiana, and Nebraska

Even though starting out 4-0 with wins over West Virginia and Illinois is an impressive feat for Maryland, it’s going to take more to consider them a conference contender. We’ll know just how good the Terrapins are soon as they face Iowa and Ohio State in the next two weeks. Taulia Tagovailoa has a Big Ten-high 1,340 passing yards as Maryland is ranked 35th per Sagarin’s ratings, ahead of Nebraska (54) and Indiana (55).

Ohio State has a clear talent advantage over the Cornhuskers and Hoosiers on both sides of the ball but an away game with a freshman quarterback could pose challenges for the Buckeyes down the road. Either C.J. Stroud or Kyle McCord will have to deal with atmospheres that they haven’t played in yet. OSU travels to Indiana on Oct. 23 before going to Nebraska on Nov. 6. Neither team is particularly scary but they are potential spoilers for the Buckeyes quest for a fifth consecutive conference championship.

Tier #3: Rutgers and Purdue

The Scarlet Knights played relatively well, especially in the second half, in a 20-13 loss at Michigan a week ago. Greg Schiano’s defense continued to limit explosive plays but Ohio State has way more speed and power than anyone Rutgers has faced this year.

Despite some recent progress, I don’t think there’s any way the Scarlet Knight will be able to keep pace with the Ohio State football team’s balanced offense this weekend. Rutgers has the 99th highest-rated passing offense.

Purdue has also exceeded expectations to this point, going 3-1 with a 30-21 win over Oregon State in the opener, but they haven’t been able to sustain drives and lack overall depth. The Boilermakers are averaging just 13.0 points in the last two games.

Because of the offensive struggles, backup quarterback Aidan O’Connell replaced Jack Plummer against Illinois and could be named the starter going forward. Purdue will meet OSU at home on Nov. 13.

It’s not a very daunting schedule the rest of the way for Ohio State with only three matchups versus ranked opponents. However, there are a couple of possible losses along the way, which could end the Buckeyes’ hopes of reaching the College Football Playoff for the third year in a row.

Penn State will be the marquee game in late October but other games against Michigan State and Indiana, and Michigan to end the year, are obstacles en route to another championship-level season.