The Ohio State football team fell short of two of its goals in 2025. While they finally beat TTUN, they were not able to capture a conference championship or a national title. Those two bigger goals fell by the wayside as the Buckeyes played their two worst games of the year at the end of the season.
Heading into 2026, Ohio State is once again going to be one of the most talented teams in the country. They will have a ton of offensive talent with Julian Sayin in his second year as a starter. Jeremiah Smith returns and will likely be the best player in the country when the season starts.
However, the Ohio State Buckeyes have an incredibly tough schedule next season. In fact, they might have the hardest schedule of any contender next year. Given the fact that they play so many tough teams, what is the best-case scenario for them next year?
The best-case scenario for the Ohio State football team in 2026
With so many tough opponents on the schedule, it's almost impossible for this team to go undefeated. This would have to be the best Ohio State football team in the modern era, and they might be missing too much defensive talent for that to be the case.
The best that the Buckeyes can hope for is going 11-1 next year. A loss to either Texas or Indiana seems to be the most likely pitfall, as both of those games are on the road. IU is the defending national champion, so winning that game won't be easy.
Ohio State will be going for revenge in that game in October. Even if the Buckeyes lose one of those games, they would still have a case to be the top overall seed in the College Football Playoff. Losing one game with the brutal schedule they have would be nothing to be ashamed of.