Ohio State handled the Texas test in Week 1, but the meat of the Buckeyes’ schedule starts Saturday, and we’ll find out a lot more about the 2025 team in the coming weeks.
The upcoming run of five games in six weeks features the toughest part of the conference schedule — The Game notwithstanding at season’s end — and it will be the time when first year starting quarterback Julian Sayin will be tested the most. How he handles these five games may determine Ohio State’s postseason fate.
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Let’s take a look at the road immediately ahead.
Sept. 27 at Washington
Despite having Penn State and Michigan still to come, Ohio State might not have a more difficult game on the schedule than Saturday’s showdown in Seattle. Not only is Husky Stadium one of the most difficult environments in college football, but the Washington Huskies are a good team.
While they entered Saturday’s Apple Cup game unranked, the Huskies look to be a formidable football team, boasting one of the nation’s top running backs in Jonah Coleman, who leads all FBS players in rushing touchdowns (7) and is third nationally in yards per game (144). Sophomore Demond Wilson is a top dual-threat quarterback, with 66 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground and 778 yards and six touchdowns without an interception through the air.
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Washington might fall into the “ain’t played nobody” category, but a 59-24 rivalry win on the road isn’t nothing, and the Huskies are averaging 56 points per game and rank second nationally in scoring offense.
Matt Patricia’s Buckeye defense will be put to the test this weekend, and the Huskies will present perhaps as many problems as Texas. Ohio State may be 9.5-point favorites now, but the Buckeyes will have to limit mistakes or risk suffering their first loss of the season.
Oct. 4 vs. Minnesota
The Golden Gophers enter conference play this weekend against Rutgers after a 2-1 non-conference slate. Minnesota may have fallen to California on the road, but the Gophers will be a stubborn out.
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The Gophers aren’t prolific offensively, but they enter play this week with the nation’s No. 1 total defense and No. 1 rush defense. Additionally, Minnesota ranks in the top 20 in scoring defense and pass defense.
Junior defensive back John Nestor already has two interceptions this season, including one he returned for a touchdown. Defensive lineman Anthony Smith — also a junior — has three sacks to lead the Gophers.
Ohio State will get the Gophers at home, but I expect this to be a close game throughout the first half and potentially through three quarters. If the Buckeyes can avoid turnovers and the defense plays a solid game, Ohio State should be able to avoid an upset, but if the Gophers get the ball in positive field position through giveaways or special teams plays, all bets are off.
Oct. 11 at Illinois
The Illini are coming off an absolute beatdown loss at Indiana, but Illinois in Champaign is a difficult road test for the Buckeyes. The wind in Memorial Stadium in mid-October can sometimes limit the passing game, which could force Ohio State to lean more heavily on running the football.
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How good the Illini really are remains to be seen. They won handily at Duke in Week 2 but it wasn’t until the second half that Bret Bielema’s team pulled away. Indiana is the only other team with a pulse that Illinois has faced in 2025.
Were the Fighting Illini ranked too highly at No. 9 entering the weekend? Possibly…Bielema’s teams play hard-nosed football, and trips to Champaign in the past haven’t been easy, so I don’t expect this one to be a cakewalk either. Ohio State should win, but it may be close in the fourth quarter.
Oct. 18 at Wisconsin
The Badgers aren’t good. That’s something we can say after a 27-10 home loss to Maryland. However, just because they aren’t good right now, we don’t know what they’ll look like in a few weeks.
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There is a lot of uncertainty around the Wisconsin program, with students noisily calling for Luke Fickell’s job at halftime on Saturday. However, aside from giving up 38 to Alabama on the road, which is difficult for any team, the Badger defense has looked decent for the most part in 2025.
Fickell’s contract might earn him some time, but as of this writing, there’s no telling what Wisconsin will look like in late October, and we don’t yet have a kickoff time. Night games in Madison are anything but easy. This is the game during the upcoming stretch that seems the easiest, but looks can be deceiving.
Nov. 1 vs. Penn State
If Ohio State can get to the beginning of November unbeaten — and that’s not a certainty with the quality of the Big Ten — this game might determine either a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game, seeding in the College Football Playoff, or both.
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The Nittany Lions are ranked No. 2 in the nation and James Franklin has his best team since his arrival in Happy Valley. Kaytron Allen is one of the nation’s best running backs, Nick Singleton gives the Lions a great 1-2 punch in the backfield, Drew Allar seems improved and is an experienced quarterback, and the defense ranks among the national leaders in opposition scoring (3), passing (12), and total defense (9).
Former OSU Defensive Coordinator knows Ohio State and Ryan Day well, and he’ll enter this game with a chip on his shoulder.
The positives for the Buckeyes entering November is that they’ll be well tested, rested — a bye week precedes the Penn State game — and at home.
While this is a winnable game, Ohio State will need to limit mistakes and stop the run. With the nation’s No. 41 rush defense at the moment (allowing 109 yards per game on the ground), Patricia has plenty of work to do in that department before Nov. 1, and we’ll have a better idea after the Washington game how good the run defense really is.
The next five games will let us know where the 2025 Buckeyes stand, and if the nation’s current top-ranked team really is poised for a potential second-straight title run.
