Michael Citro
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Behind Enemy Lines: Five best games on (and off) Ohio State’s 2024 schedule
Michael Citro via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
While the Buckeyes can’t play every Big Ten school this season, here are the schedule makers’ biggest hits and misses.
From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about Ohio State’s opponents. From looking at the Big Ten Conference to individual opponents, to specific players, we will bring it all to you. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all of our ”Behind Enemy Lines” articles here.
The 2024 Big Ten Conference football season will look different than what we’re used to. Not only does the B1G bulge from 14 to 18 teams for the 2024 season, but the league has dropped divisions, piling all the teams into one, big jumble.
The additions of USC, UCLA, Washington, and Oregon present an exciting new wrinkle for longtime fans of the conference, but it also creates some logistical challenges. After all, not every team can play each of the other teams without going to a 17-game schedule. Additionally, some schools will end up with much easier/more difficult schedules than others (and what might appear to be a weak/strong schedule may prove otherwise before the season ends).
Ohio State’s schedule is a mixture of attractive matchups and meh games, and while it would be a grind to play all the league’s top teams, the first Buckeye football schedule of the 18-team Big Ten feels a bit anticlimactic. The Buckeyes only play one of the four conference newcomers, after all.
The following are my picks for the five most attractive games on the Ohio State schedule in 2024, as well as the five biggest misses by the schedule makers in making for an exciting schedule. (Note: I’m not advocating that the Buckeyes should play 10 conference games. Think of it more as the five conference matchups I’m happiest to see on the schedule for the upcoming season, plus the five omissions I most lament not being on it.)
1. Michigan
Any Ohio State schedule must include That Team Up North. It should be the first game the schedule makers write down. The Buckeyes against the Wolverines is called “The Game” for a reason. It’s arguably the most storied rivalry in all of sports.
Regardless of records, this game has such a rich history that it requires no explanation or rationalization. It must be on the schedule, and I can’t imagine it not being there. And without divisions and with an expanded playoff field, there’s a chance this matchup could happen twice in 2024. Maybe three times? We’ll see.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25533291/1339906283.jpg "Oregon v Ohio State")
Photo by Gaelen Morse/Getty Images
Is a new conference rivalry brewing?
2. Oregon
One of the four newbies to the conference, Oregon has become an OSU rival — at least on the recruiting trail. The Buckeyes have had some big wins over the Ducks, so there is some history to this matchup.
Ohio State topped Oregon 42-20 to win the national championship on Jan. 12, 2015. The two schools also battled in the 2010 Rose Bowl game, with Terrelle Pryor leading Ohio State to a 26-17 victory. The Ducks should have a playoff-caliber team in 2024 under Dan Lanning, so this may be one of the marquee matchups of the college football season, and if you can’t get excited about the Buckeyes playing at Autzen Stadium, please check to make sure you have a pulse.
3. Penn State
The Buckeyes and Nittany Lions usually play one of the season’s most tightly contested conference games. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a rivalry (although some do), however, there’s something to be said about a game that nearly always seems to finish with the two teams separated by a touchdown or less.
I expect Penn State to have a good defense again in 2024, and a team with a good defense can hang with any team. The game will be in Happy Valley, where it’s always difficult for opponents.
4. Iowa
Speaking of teams with good defenses, the Iowa Hawkeyes visit Columbus on Oct. 5. While the Hawkeyes’ offense has been the subject of a lot of… let’s call it discussion… over the last couple of seasons, Iowa can hang around against anyone and can turn a game around with a defensive or special teams score. Along with the Michigan game, this will be Ohio State’s most difficult home matchup.
5. Nebraska
While I don’t necessarily expect Nebraska to be great in 2024, I had to put something fifth on this list. I thought long and hard about putting Michigan State in this spot, but ultimately I went with a traditional college football program that at least has nice fans.
A visit from Purdue doesn’t excite me, and I am not interested in the gimmick of the Buckeyes playing Northwestern at Wrigley Field. Ohio State should handle Indiana at home easily. That leaves Nebraska by default. This is definitely a game on the 2024 Big Ten schedule.
1-3. USC, UCLA, and Washington (Tie)
Is it cheating to place the three Pac-12 imports together at the top of this list? No, because these are my rules.
While it would be impractical to have Ohio State play all four West Coast teams, it feels like the Buckeyes should face two of them each year, with one at home and one on the road. I would love to see Ohio State pound Lincoln Riley’s Trojans into a fine paste. As an old, I have a lot of pent-up resentment for what were essentially road game losses to USC in the Rose Bowl. I expect USC to have a prolific offense, but I don’t believe in the Trojan defense just yet.
UCLA would be a fun matchup with Chip Kelly on the Ohio State sidelines. Kelly spent five seasons in Los Angeles, leading the Bruins to a (barely) winning record. The Bruins have been the second-class citizens (football-wise) in the City of Angels for a while, but Kelly made them competitive again and led them to three straight bowl games before his departure. I have some childhood Rose Bowl-related trauma when it comes to UCLA, too, so it would be fun to play the Bruins.
Washington is coming off a monster season, but the Huskies, though talented, will be in a transition year. Jedd Fisch left Arizona for Seattle after the departure of Kalen DeBoer to Alabama. An Ohio State-Washington matchup would have been fun to see, and the Huskies visiting Ohio Stadium would be an enjoyable counterpoint to the Buckeyes’ trip to Oregon.
4. Wisconsin
I love a good storyline in college football, so Luke Fickell’s return to the Horseshoe at the helm of the Badgers would have scratched that itch nicely. Fickell is in his second season in Madison, and while I don’t expect his transformation of Wisconsin to be complete yet, the team should start to turn in the right direction this season.
If Fickell can be as successful at Wisconsin as he was at Cincinnati, this would be a good year to face the Badgers, because they might evolve into a bit of a Culver’s-fueled problem in the coming seasons.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25533281/876051774.jpg "COLLEGE FOOTBALL: NOV 18 Illinois at Ohio State")
Photo by Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
To me, this trophy is more beautiful than the Stanley Cup.
5. Illinois
Many people don’t care about the Illibuck Trophy as much as old guys like me do. I can’t help it. I was raised on difficult games against the Fighting Illini. The first game I ever saw in the Horseshoe was an epic 49-42 aerial battle between Ohio State’s Art Schlichter and Illini quarterback Dave Wilson.
So, the Illinois rivalry, while not what it once was, will always have a special place in my heart. The teams have played some intense and close games over the years, but my main reason for including the Illini is the Illibuck Trophy rivalry.
What are the five conference games you’re most excited for, and what are the five omissions on the schedule you most want to see in 2024? Let us know in the comments section below.
Continue reading...
Michael Citro via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
While the Buckeyes can’t play every Big Ten school this season, here are the schedule makers’ biggest hits and misses.
From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about Ohio State’s opponents. From looking at the Big Ten Conference to individual opponents, to specific players, we will bring it all to you. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all of our ”Behind Enemy Lines” articles here.
The 2024 Big Ten Conference football season will look different than what we’re used to. Not only does the B1G bulge from 14 to 18 teams for the 2024 season, but the league has dropped divisions, piling all the teams into one, big jumble.
The additions of USC, UCLA, Washington, and Oregon present an exciting new wrinkle for longtime fans of the conference, but it also creates some logistical challenges. After all, not every team can play each of the other teams without going to a 17-game schedule. Additionally, some schools will end up with much easier/more difficult schedules than others (and what might appear to be a weak/strong schedule may prove otherwise before the season ends).
Ohio State’s schedule is a mixture of attractive matchups and meh games, and while it would be a grind to play all the league’s top teams, the first Buckeye football schedule of the 18-team Big Ten feels a bit anticlimactic. The Buckeyes only play one of the four conference newcomers, after all.
The following are my picks for the five most attractive games on the Ohio State schedule in 2024, as well as the five biggest misses by the schedule makers in making for an exciting schedule. (Note: I’m not advocating that the Buckeyes should play 10 conference games. Think of it more as the five conference matchups I’m happiest to see on the schedule for the upcoming season, plus the five omissions I most lament not being on it.)
The five best Ohio State conference games
1. Michigan
Any Ohio State schedule must include That Team Up North. It should be the first game the schedule makers write down. The Buckeyes against the Wolverines is called “The Game” for a reason. It’s arguably the most storied rivalry in all of sports.
Regardless of records, this game has such a rich history that it requires no explanation or rationalization. It must be on the schedule, and I can’t imagine it not being there. And without divisions and with an expanded playoff field, there’s a chance this matchup could happen twice in 2024. Maybe three times? We’ll see.
Is a new conference rivalry brewing?
2. Oregon
One of the four newbies to the conference, Oregon has become an OSU rival — at least on the recruiting trail. The Buckeyes have had some big wins over the Ducks, so there is some history to this matchup.
Ohio State topped Oregon 42-20 to win the national championship on Jan. 12, 2015. The two schools also battled in the 2010 Rose Bowl game, with Terrelle Pryor leading Ohio State to a 26-17 victory. The Ducks should have a playoff-caliber team in 2024 under Dan Lanning, so this may be one of the marquee matchups of the college football season, and if you can’t get excited about the Buckeyes playing at Autzen Stadium, please check to make sure you have a pulse.
3. Penn State
The Buckeyes and Nittany Lions usually play one of the season’s most tightly contested conference games. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a rivalry (although some do), however, there’s something to be said about a game that nearly always seems to finish with the two teams separated by a touchdown or less.
I expect Penn State to have a good defense again in 2024, and a team with a good defense can hang with any team. The game will be in Happy Valley, where it’s always difficult for opponents.
4. Iowa
Speaking of teams with good defenses, the Iowa Hawkeyes visit Columbus on Oct. 5. While the Hawkeyes’ offense has been the subject of a lot of… let’s call it discussion… over the last couple of seasons, Iowa can hang around against anyone and can turn a game around with a defensive or special teams score. Along with the Michigan game, this will be Ohio State’s most difficult home matchup.
5. Nebraska
While I don’t necessarily expect Nebraska to be great in 2024, I had to put something fifth on this list. I thought long and hard about putting Michigan State in this spot, but ultimately I went with a traditional college football program that at least has nice fans.
A visit from Purdue doesn’t excite me, and I am not interested in the gimmick of the Buckeyes playing Northwestern at Wrigley Field. Ohio State should handle Indiana at home easily. That leaves Nebraska by default. This is definitely a game on the 2024 Big Ten schedule.
The five biggest omissions on Ohio State’s schedule
1-3. USC, UCLA, and Washington (Tie)
Is it cheating to place the three Pac-12 imports together at the top of this list? No, because these are my rules.
While it would be impractical to have Ohio State play all four West Coast teams, it feels like the Buckeyes should face two of them each year, with one at home and one on the road. I would love to see Ohio State pound Lincoln Riley’s Trojans into a fine paste. As an old, I have a lot of pent-up resentment for what were essentially road game losses to USC in the Rose Bowl. I expect USC to have a prolific offense, but I don’t believe in the Trojan defense just yet.
UCLA would be a fun matchup with Chip Kelly on the Ohio State sidelines. Kelly spent five seasons in Los Angeles, leading the Bruins to a (barely) winning record. The Bruins have been the second-class citizens (football-wise) in the City of Angels for a while, but Kelly made them competitive again and led them to three straight bowl games before his departure. I have some childhood Rose Bowl-related trauma when it comes to UCLA, too, so it would be fun to play the Bruins.
Washington is coming off a monster season, but the Huskies, though talented, will be in a transition year. Jedd Fisch left Arizona for Seattle after the departure of Kalen DeBoer to Alabama. An Ohio State-Washington matchup would have been fun to see, and the Huskies visiting Ohio Stadium would be an enjoyable counterpoint to the Buckeyes’ trip to Oregon.
4. Wisconsin
I love a good storyline in college football, so Luke Fickell’s return to the Horseshoe at the helm of the Badgers would have scratched that itch nicely. Fickell is in his second season in Madison, and while I don’t expect his transformation of Wisconsin to be complete yet, the team should start to turn in the right direction this season.
If Fickell can be as successful at Wisconsin as he was at Cincinnati, this would be a good year to face the Badgers, because they might evolve into a bit of a Culver’s-fueled problem in the coming seasons.
To me, this trophy is more beautiful than the Stanley Cup.
5. Illinois
Many people don’t care about the Illibuck Trophy as much as old guys like me do. I can’t help it. I was raised on difficult games against the Fighting Illini. The first game I ever saw in the Horseshoe was an epic 49-42 aerial battle between Ohio State’s Art Schlichter and Illini quarterback Dave Wilson.
So, the Illinois rivalry, while not what it once was, will always have a special place in my heart. The teams have played some intense and close games over the years, but my main reason for including the Illini is the Illibuck Trophy rivalry.
What are the five conference games you’re most excited for, and what are the five omissions on the schedule you most want to see in 2024? Let us know in the comments section below.
Continue reading...