The Ohio State Buckeyes will face such a difficult schedule during the 2026 College Football season that USA Today's Matt Hayes is using it as a way to mock the SEC and how easy teams in the "It Just Means More" conference have it.
Hayes took aim at the Georgia Bulldogs' schedule specifically, pointing out that UGA is only playing the Alabama Crimson Tide, Oklahoma Sooners, and Ole Miss Rebels in the SEC, while OSU faces the defending champion Indiana Hoosiers, Oregon Ducks, USC Trojans, TTUN, Illinois Fighting Illini, Iowa Hawkeyes, and Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Big Ten. Ohio State even faces perhaps the toughest SEC school that's now off the Dawgs' schedule, unless they meet in the conference championship.
"And for slips and giggles, the Buckeyes play at Texas, too," Hayes added.
With every ounce of context, the Buckeyes may be facing the toughest challenge in the history of the NIL/rev-share era.
Ryan Day may be pre-emptively on the hot seat given Ohio State's tough schedule
Things are going to be difficult for Ohio State in 2026. Freaky things happen in CFB, but there's a snowball's chance in hell that all the aforementioned seven B1G programs will underperform. Given how well the Texas Longhorns performed in the transfer portal, banking on them not showing up in Austin in Week 2 is slim to none.
Ryan Day may be pre-emptively on the hot seat. Of course, anything short of five losses will keep Day in his seat for 2027. But the decisions he's made this offseason, mainly the one decision to hire Arthur Smith as offensive coordinator, could put him under the microscope in Columbus.
Knowing this schedule was coming, Day hired a guy who may force Matt Patricia to step up his defensive performance. Running back Bo Jackson may have to deliver Derrick Henry-esque results to make this work.
Things may be more doom and gloom narratively than in reality, but every prognosticator foresees this being a daunting campaign for Day's program here in the early stages of the offseason.