Ohio State Football: Looking Ahead to the Buckeyes' Brutal 2016 Schedule
It feels like an annual tradition for fans of other teams to criticize the perceived weakness of Ohio State's schedule, but with the brutal slate that lies ahead of the Buckeyes in 2016, that custom should come to an unceremonious end.
Urban Meyer's squad is already facing the mountainous task of replacing a load of NFL talent—an undertaking that will require finding eight new starters on each side of the ball. Many of those holes will be filled by underclassmen, so Ohio State will take on one of the most challenging schedules with one of the most inexperienced teams in the country.
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Will Meyer be able to get his young Buckeyes ready for this gauntlet?
| Bowling Green | 10-4 | Not Ranked | Not Ranked |
| Tulsa | 6-7 | Not Ranked | Not Ranked |
| @ Oklahoma | 11-2 | No. 4 | No. 2 |
| Bye Week | - | - | - |
| Rutgers | 4-8 | Not Ranked | Not Ranked |
| Indiana | 6-7 | Not Ranked | Not Ranked |
| @ Wisconsin | 10-3 | No. 21 | No. 21 |
| @ Penn State | 7-6 | Not Ranked | Not Ranked |
| Northwestern | 10-3 | No. 23 | No. 24 |
| Nebraska | 6-7 | Not Ranked | Not Ranked |
| @ Maryland | 3-9 | Not Ranked | Not Ranked |
| @ Michigan State | 12-2 | No. 6 | No. 11 |
| Michigan | 10-3 | No. 12 | No. 9 |
The Nonconference Slate
Even the gimme games aren't really gimmes.
The Buckeyes will open the season against Bowling Green, the reigning MAC champion and a team that knocked off two Big Ten squads in 2015—Maryland and Purdue. The Falcons will have to replace quarterback Matt Johnson, who piled up an incredible 5,105 yards of offense and 50 touchdowns as a senior.
A week later, Ohio State will host an explosive Tulsa team that ranked 13th nationally in total offense (averaging 507.4 yards per game in 2015) and 21st in scoring offense (37.2).
But those games will serve as a warm-up to one of the most highly anticipated nonconference games of the year when Ohio State heads south for a showdown with Oklahoma.
The Sooners—who were knocked out of the College Football Playoff by Clemson on New Year's Eve—are projected by Ryan McCrystal of Bleacher Report as the No. 2 team, and they are expected to make another playoff run in 2016.
They return seven starters on both sides of the ball, highlighted by quarterback Baker Mayfield, who exploded for 3,700 yards and 36 touchdowns (against just seven interceptions) to complement 405 yards and seven scores on the ground last season.
Facing that veteran squad on the road in what will most likely be a prime-time game will be a stiff challenge for a green Ohio State team.
B1G Play
2016 is the year the Big Ten shifts to a nine-game conference slate, so Ohio State won't be able to squeeze in a tuneup game before league play.
Fortunately for Meyer, Ohio State will have a bye week following the big showdown with Oklahoma, then the Buckeyes open conference play against a rebuilding Rutgers team and an Indiana squad that's losing a ton of offensive firepower—namely quarterback Nate Sudfeld and running back Jordan Howard.
But things take a decidedly hard turn after the Indiana game, when Ohio State makes back-to-back road trips to two of college football's most hostile environments—Wisconsin and Penn State. The Badgers surged under new head coach Paul Chryst, winning 10 games in 2015, and they'll be geared up to host Ohio State for the first time since 2012.
The Northwestern Wildcats aren't the walkover they used to be, and Ohio State will have to deal with them before kicking off November with a home bout against Nebraska. A week later, the Buckeyes will hit the road to take on Maryland before the most difficult stretch of the schedule.
Like in 2015, Ohio State will close out next season with back-to-back games against Michigan State and Michigan. Of course, with the alternate venues, it'll be the Buckeyes traveling to East Lansing to face the Spartans before coming home to host the Wolverines.
Both Michigan State and Michigan will be breaking in new quarterbacks in 2016, but by the time November rolls around, both should be fully entrenched in their respective offenses. The Buckeyes will be looking to avenge the lone loss of their 2015 campaign, while the Wolverines will be gunning for revenge after the humiliating 42-13 blowout loss they suffered at the hands of Ohio State last November.
With these two games at the tail end of the schedule, it's likely that the East Division will come down to the wire—again—in 2016.
David Regimbal is the Ohio State football lead writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @davidreg412.
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