Ryan Day knows this Ohio State team can win another national title. The talent is there. The real test is the schedule. In 2026, the Buckeyes face what many inside the program call the toughest road of Day’s career in Columbus. It’s a stretch that could decide whether they return to the playoffs or watch from home. Analyst Greg McElroy claims “they’ll have to earn” their way through.

“Ohio State, according to many, will be the number one team in the country, understandably. But I think you can make a strong case that this is the hardest schedule that Ryan Day has ever had to coach in Columbus,” said Greg McElroy during his July 14 appearance on ESPN College Football. “And it is a peculiar tax for being great. You’re at the pinnacle. You’re turning out first-rounders. You got Julian Sayin back at quarterback. Jeremiah Smith out there on the outside. And the schedule makers are like, ‘Perfect. All right. Sounds good. You got all that. Here’s a minefield.'”

It isn’t just McElroy, but Joel Klatt also sent an alarming message for Ryan Day. He focused on OSU’s games against Texas, Indiana, and Michigan. If OSU can beat these three, there’s a chance to stay in playoff contention. Otherwise, Klatt warned: “If you miss the playoffs as the Ohio State Buckeyes, life is not going to be good.”

And the possibility of missing a title run only grows bigger considering OSU’s road games. “The road schedule is where this thing turns into a bit of a survival test,” said McElroy. “And here’s the number that separates this slate from everyone else’s. No other team in America has two road games against teams that are this good. The Buckeyes go to Texas. They go to the defending national champion, Indiana.”

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When the Longhorns host Ohio State, that’s going to be a monster rematch of 2025. Last year, a loss to OSU cost Texas a spot in the CFP, so this season they are desperate to win. Both have elite QBs who now have one full year of football under them. If OSU loses to Texas, the road will be tougher for the Buckeyes, as they will proceed to face Indiana.

The Hoosiers know how to win against the likely No. 1 team: Ohio State. Last season, IU was 15-0, and they haven’t lost a home game under Curt Cignetti. More importantly, the Buckeyes lost to IU in the B1G title game. “If Indiana beats Ohio State, all of a sudden the premier program in the Big 10 is Indiana at the moment, which is wild,” said Klatt.

However, the concern doesn’t stop there for Ryan Day’s OSU, as they have to face USC and Iowa on the road. In fact, home games will be de facto playoff eliminators with no easy weeks for the Buckeyes. “They host Oregon. They host Michigan. And that’s potentially a half-dozen games against ranked competition,” said the former Alabama QB. “So, Ohio State is good enough to run the table. The schedule guarantees they’ll have to earn the number one seed against the toughest field any Buckeye team has faced in years.”

But if OSU can win by beating such a tough schedule, they will become part of an exclusive club who went through similar Brutal “gauntlet” schedules. The clearest example would be in 2024, where Florida faced what many analysts called the hardest modern schedule ever, closing the season against five straight top-15 teams (Georgia, Texas, LSU, Ole Miss, and Florida State).

Bob Stoops’ Oklahoma Sooners had a three week stretch in 2000 where they had to play No. 11 Texas, No. 2 Kansas State, and No. 1 Nebraska back-to-back-to-back.

Then there is the 2017 Auburn Tigers. Head coach Gus Malzahn and his boys had to play No. 1 Georgia and No. 1 Alabama in the span of three weeks to finish the regular season. Because they won both, they were forced to play Georgia again in the SEC Championship game. The Tigers played three games against No. 1 ranked teams in less than a month. The physical toll left them banged up, leading to a loss in the SEC Title game and a subsequent Peach Bowl loss to UCF

As for the year 2026, it is not Ohio State that is believed to have the toughest schedule. That honor goes to the Arkansas Razorbacks. They open on the road at Utah, and then proceed to face Georgia, Texas, LSU, Tennessee, and Texas A&M in conference play.