If you were standing in the middle of Lane Avenue last August, the air felt different. There was this heavy, almost suffocating expectation. Ohio State was coming off a national title, and the 2025 Ohio State football schedule looked like a gauntlet designed by someone who really, really wanted to see Ryan Day sweat. Now that we’re sitting in January 2026, looking back at the wreckage and the triumphs, it’s clear that 2025 wasn’t just another year of football in Columbus. It was a bizarre, 14-game odyssey that proved why the "expanded" Big Ten is both a dream and a total nightmare for travel budgets.
Honestly, the schedule was a bit of a psychological experiment.
The August Earthquake: Texas Comes to Town
Usually, the season opener is a "get-right" game. You play a directional school, the backups get some snaps by the third quarter, and everyone is home in time for dinner. Not in 2025. On August 30, the Texas Longhorns rolled into the Horseshoe. It was 12:00 PM ET on FOX, and the heat on the turf was pushing 100 degrees.
Most people thought Texas would bully a reloading Buckeye defense. Instead, we saw a 14-7 rock fight. It wasn't pretty. It was actually kind of ugly. But a win is a win, and starting the season by toppling the #1 ranked team in the country set a tone that the rest of the country wasn't ready for.
The September Lull (Or So We Thought)
After the adrenaline of Texas, things got... quiet? Sorta.
- Sept 6: Grambling State visited. It was a 70-0 blowout, but the real highlight was the halftime show. If you weren't in your seat for that, you missed the best part of the day.
- Sept 13: The "Battle of Ohio" against the Ohio Bobcats. A 37-9 win that felt closer than the score suggested until the fourth quarter.
- Sept 20: The first of two off weeks.
Then came the travel. Oh boy, the travel.
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Why the 2025 Ohio State football schedule Felt Like an Airline Ad
If you looked at the map for October, you’d think the Buckeyes were joined at the hip with United Airlines. On September 27, the team flew to Seattle to face Washington. It was the first trip to Husky Stadium since 2007. The atmosphere was electric, and the Buckeyes handled the "Purple Reign" with a 24-6 victory.
But then the real grind started. Between September 27 and November 1, the Buckeyes only played one game at home. One.
Basically, the team lived out of suitcases.
- Oct 4: Back home for Minnesota (Homecoming). A 42-3 shellacking.
- Oct 11: At Illinois. First time in Champaign in a decade. We took home the Illibuck trophy with a 34-16 win.
- Oct 18: At Wisconsin. Camp Randall is never easy, but a 34-0 shutout silenced the Jump Around crowd pretty quickly.
The November Gauntlet and the Indiana Problem
By the time Penn State rolled into Columbus on November 1, everyone was exhausted. The 12:00 PM FOX kickoff saw a tired Buckeye squad lean on their defense to pull out a 38-14 win. It felt like the home stretch was going to be a breeze. Rutgers, UCLA, and Purdue aren't exactly the 1985 Bears.
We handled business. 34-10 against Purdue. 48-10 against UCLA (the new Big Ten travel partner). 42-9 against Rutgers.
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And then, the game.
November 29 in Ann Arbor. 12:00 PM. The Buckeyes walked into Michigan Stadium and absolutely dismantled the Wolverines 27-9. For a moment, it felt like 2025 was going to be a perfect repeat of the championship year. 12-0. Perfect regular season.
But then came Indianapolis.
The Big Ten Championship Heartbreak
What most people get wrong about the 2025 Ohio State football schedule is that they assume the Michigan game was the peak. It wasn't. The peak—or the valley, depending on who you ask—was December 6.
Indiana. Yes, the Indiana Hoosiers.
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They weren't the "same old Indiana." They were 12-0 and ranked #2. In a game that set viewership records (18.3 million people tuned in), Ohio State’s offensive line finally blinked. Luke Montgomery and Carson Hinzman struggled against the Hoosier blitz. We lost 13-10. It was the kind of loss that makes you stare at the ceiling for three days straight.
The Postseason: Cotton Bowl Blues
Because of the loss to Indiana, we ended up as the #2 or #3 seed depending on which poll you looked at, but the CFP committee put us in the Quarterfinal against Miami in the Cotton Bowl.
December 31, 2025. New Year's Eve in Arlington, Texas.
The dream of a repeat died in the Jerry World lights. A 24-14 loss to the Hurricanes ended the season at 12-2. It’s weird to call a 12-win season a "failure," but at Ohio State, that’s the deal you sign up for.
Actionable Insights for the 2026 Offseason
Now that we’ve processed the 2025 season, what actually matters for the future? If you're a fan or a bettor looking at the 2026 cycle, here is what you need to keep an eye on:
- The Trenches: Luke Montgomery and Carson Hinzman have already announced they are returning for 2026. They were devastated by the Indiana and Miami games. Expect a much meaner offensive line next year.
- The Transfer Portal: We’ve already lost Quincy Porter and Mylan Graham to Notre Dame. The wide receiver room is getting thin, which is a sentence I never thought I’d write about Ohio State.
- The "New" Big Ten Fatigue: The 2025 schedule proved that the West Coast trips are real. The 2026 schedule likely won't be any easier, so depth is more important than ever.
The 2025 season was a wild ride of 12 straight wins followed by a two-game skid that felt like a car crash. But looking at the stats—12-2 overall, 9-0 in the regular Big Ten season, and another win over Michigan—it’s hard to stay mad for long.
If you're planning your travel for next year, start saving for those flights now. The Big Ten isn't getting any smaller.