Ohio State will be 'battle tested' by 2026 schedule - ESPN

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State stars Jeremiah Smith and Julian Sayin agree on what the Buckeyes were missing entering last season's College Football Playoff.

«We [weren't] battle tested,» Smith said. «We played one team and that was in late August.

»We definitely going to be battle tested this year — and it's going to show a lot at the end of the season."

That one team was Texas, which arrived in Columbus for the opener ranked No. 1 in the preseason polls. Ohio State staved off the Longhorns in the fourth quarter to win 14-7.

The Buckeyes wouldn't play another meaningful fourth quarter until the postseason.

But there, they couldn't rally past Indiana in the Big Ten championship game or complete a comeback against Miami in a playoff quarterfinal, ending their season.

«This year we have a better schedule, a tougher schedule,» Sayin said. «I think it's going to be good for us. We just didn't have that many tough games in the [regular season] — and you need that.»

Ohio State should have plenty of them this season.

The top-ranked Buckeyes face arguably the toughest schedule in the country, beginning Saturday night with a visit to Austin for a rematch against the fourth-ranked Longhorns.

«It's going to be a challenge, but that's the way you want it,» coach Ryan Day said before the season. «It's going to force us to get comfortable winning games in the fourth quarter during the regular season.»

Ohio State plays six teams ranked in the preseason Top 25, including four of them — Texas, Iowa (Oct. 3), Indiana (Oct. 17) and USC (Oct. 31) — on the road.

Oregon also travels to Columbus on Nov. 7.

Of the Buckeyes' remaining opponents, only Kent State, Maryland and Northwestern were outside the top 33 in ESPN's SP+ preseason rankings.

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