Ohio State Football: 3 toughest games on 2023 schedule
The Ohio State football team will play some good teams in 2023. Here are the three toughest games on next season’s schedule.
The Ohio State football team is getting ready for Spring practices to commence on March 7th in preparation for the 2023 season. Ohio State will play some tough road games in 2023 and with a new quarterback at the helm, things can get dicey for the Buckeyes.
But Ryan Day and Ohio State usually find a way to win most games. Day will be entering his fifth season as head coach already and he carries an impressive 45-6 record during that time period. But can the Buckeyes get back to the College Football Playoffs in 2023? Here are three games that may determine their fate next season.
No. 3: At Notre Dame, September 23rd
The Buckeyes travel to South Bend for the re-match of last year’s opening game in Columbus. Last season, Ohio State won a game that was close for most of the contest. This will be either Kyle McCord’s or Devin Brown’s second road test (Indiana, Week 1) and it should be an electric atmosphere.
The Irish will enter with a new starting quarterback under second-year head coach Marcus Freeman. Sam Hartman will be under center as an established veteran QB, having played five seasons’ already at Wake Forrest. Hartman, on paper, will be the toughest quarterback that the Buckeyes will face in 2023 having thrown for over 3,700 yards and 38 touchdowns last season.
No. 2: At Wisconsin, October 28th
Usually, the Penn State game gets to nod here but I’m going to say that Wisconsin has a bounce-back season under Luke Fickell as this will be a tough contest in Camp Randall. This will probably also be a night game unless Fox makes it a Big Noon Kickoff.
But anytime the Buckeyes travel to Madison the games are usually pretty close. In fact, the last time Ohio State traveled to play Wisconsin was the 2016 thrilling overtime game in which the Buckeyes won 30-23.
Fickell was able to nab Phil Longo as offensive coordinator and that should mean a shift from a running style to a more open attack from the Badgers. Wisconsin also added transfer quarterback Tanner Mordecai, who played at SMU last season and threw for over 3,500 yards and 35 touchdowns. This should be an excellent game at the end of October.
No. 1: At Michigan, November 25th
And of course, traveling to Ann Arbor will be the toughest game on next season’s schedule for the Ohio State football team. Coming in with two straight losses to the Wolverines, it is imperative that Ryan Day comes out victorious in this one.
It won’t be easy as Michigan will bring back Blake Corum, Donovan Edwards, and JJ McCarthy. The Wolverines will surely come in as a top 10 team as their 2023 schedule looks to be as easy as it was in 2022 for them. The Michigan non-conference schedule is a complete joke having to face East Carolina, UNLV, and Bowling Green.
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But that won’t matter when November rolls around. As long as Michigan comes in healthy, this will be a physical battle just like the last two games against them. Hopefully, the 2023 Buckeyes come in ready to play on November 25th.