Big Ten Releases Dates, Ohio State To Open Conference Play With Home Game vs. Illinois

The dates for Ohio State’s 2026 Big Ten games have arrived. The Buckeyes, which open their 2026 regular season with nonconference games against Ball State on Sept. 5, Texas on Sept. 12 and Kent State on Sept. 19, will start Big Ten play at home on Sept. 25 with a game against Illinois.

After taking on the Fighting Illini, Ohio State will travel to Iowa to take on the Hawkeyes on Oct. 3. Then, Ohio State will come back home to face Maryland on Oct. 10, before going back on the road to face the defending national champions, Indiana, on Oct. 17.

Ohio State will have its open week after its game against the Hoosiers and will take on USC on the road on Halloween.

After facing the Trojans, Ohio State will host Oregon on Nov. 7 and Northwestern on Nov. 14.

The Buckeyes will take on Nebraska on the road on Nov. 21, before they wrap up their regular season with Michigan on Nov. 28.

Although the opponents Ohio State would face in 2026 was already known, the dates of those games were still unknown before Tuesday.

On first glance, the midseason stretch from Oct. 17 to Nov. 7 will be a significant one for the Buckeyes. In that span, Ohio State will face the defending national champion Hoosiers, travel across the country to face USC, and ultimately face Oregon, a team that reached the semifinals of the College Football Playoffs last season.

The break for the Buckeyes is that their open week will break up games against Indiana and USC.