Every season, the Ohio State Buckeyes play at least one home night game. Usually, those take place before November arrives. The Buckeyes used to not want to play home night games that late in the calendar because of how cold it gets. However, that has changed in the 12-team CFP era.
Ohio State hosted a first-round College Football Playoff game against Tennessee in December of 2024. This season, the Buckeyes haven't had a home night game yet. There have been rumors that they will host one against Northwestern, and now that is all but confirmed.
Ohio State will almost certainly host Northwestern for a home night game
With the kickoff time of the Maryland game announced for 4:15, that means that Ohio State will likely host a night game against the Wildcats. The Oregon game will be a 3:30 game on CBS based on the TV schedules for both Notre Dame and FOX, so that game is out of the question to be a night game.
Hosting a night game against Northwestern isn't ideal. That's a game that won't have the crowd as jacked up as it would be if they were taking on the Ducks or another opponent. However, it gives them a chance to wear their new black uniforms, and it will be the only game that they wear them.
The Northwestern game will be a game that will likely see the Buckeyes favored by multiple touchdowns. It's not a game that fans should have to worry about an upset, but crazier things have happened. You can never count out an opponent before a game.
The Northwestern game is scheduled for November 14. Under Gene Smith, there's no way that the Buckeyes would have hosted a night game that late in the season. With Ross Bjork in charge, things are different. The success of the home night game in the CFP changed things, as well.
Ohio State still hasn't announced when they will wear their all-scarlet uniforms
It is still unclear when Ohio State will wear its new all-scarlet uniforms. There's a chance that could happen when Oregon comes to town in the first weekend of November. They could also wear them against Maryland, as that is homecoming. They better not wear them against TTUN.
There have been instances in past years where the Buckeyes wore alternate uniforms against the Wolverines. That is one game that should be sacred and shouldn't see either team wear anything other than their normal uniforms. That is something that Urban Meyer didn't seem to agree with.
Ohio State is starting to hit the meat of its schedule, as it will play ranked teams in four of the next five games. That stretch of the schedule will determine whether or not the Buckeyes will make the College Football Playoff. They already have one loss, so they can't afford to pick up two more.
Northwestern isn't likely to give them one of their losses. If Ohio State does lose another game, this Iowa game this weekend has a chance to be one of them.
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