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How difficult is Ohio State football’s 2026 schedule? See breakdown

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How difficult is Ohio State football’s 2026 schedule? See breakdown


Just how difficult is Ohio State’s 2026 football schedule? And how does it stack up against other Big Ten opponents’ schedules?

After an early matchup against Texas, the Buckeyes have a difficult stretch of Big Ten opponents including games against Oregon and Indiana, two 2025 College Football Playoff teams.

After a bye week, the Buckeyes will also travel to Los Angeles to play USC, which owns the top recruiting class in 2026 according to 247Sports.

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See how Ohio State’s schedule might stack up against other Big Ten opponents.

2026 Big Ten opponents’ 2025 conference winning percentage

While college football teams look vastly different year to year due to graduating players and transfers, Ohio State’s 2026 Big Ten opponents combined have a stronger 2025 conference win-loss percentage than any other team’s opponents. The other 2025 CFP teams, Oregon and Indiana, rank fifth and sixth on the list.

  • Ohio State – 0.629
  • Northwestern – 0.580
  • Michigan – 0.568
  • Nebraska – 0.568
  • Oregon – 0.556
  • Indiana – 0.531
  • Washington – 0.531
  • USC – 0.519
  • Iowa – 0.506
  • Michigan State – 0.494
  • Purdue – 0.493
  • Minnesota – 0.481
  • Rutgers – 0.469
  • UCLA – 0.469
  • Illinois – 0.444
  • Maryland – 0.432
  • Penn State – 0.420
  • Wisconsin – 0.346

Ohio State football 2026 games against 2025 College Football Playoff teams

Including Ohio State, three Big Ten teams made the 2025 College Football Playoff. Indiana and Oregon, the other two teams that played against each other in the CFP semifinals, are on Ohio State’s schedule next season. While the Buckeyes will face Oregon at home, they will face the reigning national champion in Bloomington, Indiana.

Three teams in the conference – Northwestern, Nebraska and USC – will have to play all three 2025 CFP teams next season.

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Teams facing three 2025 CFB teams:

Teams facing two 2025 CFB teams

  • Ohio State (Oregon, Indiana)
  • Illinois (Ohio State, Oregon)
  • Michigan (Ohio State, Oregon)
  • Washington (Oregon, Indiana)
  • Indiana (Ohio State, Oregon)

Teams facing one 2025 CFB team

  • Indiana (Ohio State)
  • Iowa (Ohio State)
  • Maryland (Ohio State)
  • Michigan State (Oregon)
  • Oregon (Ohio State)
  • Purdue (Indiana)
  • UCLA (Oregon)

Teams facing no 2025 CFB teams

  • Minnesota
  • Penn State
  • Rutgers
  • Wisconsin

2026 Opponents on USA Today’s way-too-early top 25 list

Since the end-of-the-year rankings fail to accurately represent how a team projects for the 2026 season, USA TODAY’s way-too-early top-25 poll can be used to judge Ohio State’s opponents.

Among Big Ten teams, Ohio State plays the most teams included in the top-25 list: Texas (No. 1), Iowa (No. 21), Michigan (No. 13), USC (No. 12), Oregon (No. 9) and Indiana (No. 4). The Buckeyes are No. 2 spot in the rankings.

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See what matchups the rest of the conference has below:

  • Ohio State – 6 (Texas, Iowa, USC, Oregon, Indiana, Michigan)
  • Northwestern: – 5 (Indiana, Oregon, Ohio State, Iowa, Penn State)
  • Michigan – 5 (Ohio State, Iowa, Penn State, Indiana, Oregon)
  • Washington – 5 (Indiana, Oregon, Penn State, USC, Iowa)
  • Nebraska – 4 (Indiana, Oregon, Ohio State, Iowa)
  • USC – 4 (Indiana, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State)
  • Purdue – 4 (Notre Dame, Penn State, Indiana, Iowa)
  • Rutgers – 4 (USC, Indiana, Michigan, Penn State)
  • Wisconsin – 4 (Notre Dame, Penn State, USC, Iowa)
  • Oregon – 3 (USC, Ohio State, Michigan)
  • Indiana – 3 (USC, Ohio State, Michigan)
  • UCLA – 3 (Oregon, Michigan, USC)
  • Illinois – 3 (Iowa, Ohio State, Oregon)
  • Maryland – 3 (Ohio State, USC, Penn State)
  • Michigan State – 3 (Notre Dame, Michigan, Oregon)
  • Penn State – 3 (USC, Michigan, Iowa)
  • Iowa – 2 (Ohio State, Michigan)

Ohio State ‘cross-country’ trips compared to Big Ten opponents

Last season, the Buckeyes had one trip to the West Coast, to open up Big Ten play against the Washington Huskies. This season, Ohio State once again has one West Coast trip, to face USC, but the Buckeyes will be coming off a bye entering the game.

USC, on the other hand, has a trip to Wisconsin before facing Ohio State the following week. Ohio State will also travel during its nonconference season to play Texas, which is 1,237 miles away.

No eastern Big Ten travels to play a West Coast Big Ten opponent more than once in the 2026 season. West Coast teams (USC, Washington, Oregon, UCLA) travel at least three times for road matchups against eastern Big Ten opponents. USC has the most road matchups in the Midwest: Wisconsin, Indiana, Rutgers and Penn State.

2026 Ohio State football schedule

All times TBD

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  • Sept. 5: vs. Ball State
  • Sept. 12: at Texas
  • Sept. 19: vs. Kent State
  • Sept. 26: vs. Illinois
  • Oct. 3: at Iowa
  • Oct. 10: vs. Maryland
  • Oct. 17: at Indiana
  • Oct. 24: OFF
  • Oct. 31: at USC
  • Nov. 7: vs. Oregon
  • Nov. 14: vs. Northwestern
  • Nov. 21: at Nebraska
  • Nov. 28: vs. Michigan

Dan Aulbach covers breaking and trending sports for The Columbus Dispatch. Email him at daulbach@dispatch.com and follow along X for more.



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Spring wild turkey hunting in Ohio broken into four seasons this year

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Spring wild turkey hunting in Ohio broken into four seasons this year


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Spring turkey hunting is about to start in Ohio and is broken into four separate seasons this year.

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That covers youth and adult hunts across two different zones: northeast and south.

Ohio’s northeast zone consists of Cuyahoga, Geauga, Trumbull, Lake and Ashtabula counties. The south zone is comprised of the state’s 83 other counties, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

Youth spring wild turkey hunting season will be April 18-19 for Ohio’s 83 southern counties and April 25-26 in the five northeast counties.

For adult hunters, the spring wild turkey season runs April 25 to May 24 in the south zone and May 2 to May 31 in the northeast zone.

Spring gobbler hunters in Ohio are allowed to harvest one bearded turkey in 2026.

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Hunters should refer to the Ohio Hunting and Trapping Regulations for turkey hunting requirements.

Seasons established to manage size of state’s flock

The seasons are in place to regulate the turkey population of the Buckeye State, Nathan Cass, an ODNR wildlife officer in Crawford County, previously told the News Journal.

“In the early 1900s, they were pretty much gone from Ohio,” Cass said.

Management practices allowed the birds to rebuild their flocks. A century later, they were just as plentiful as ever.

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“Probably the 1990s and early 2000s was when the population was at its highest,” Cass said.

Predators and loss of habitat have reduced the state’s turkey numbers slightly over the last two decades, but there are still plenty of gobblers for hunters to harvest this spring.

Hunters who scout their local flocks ahead of the season will notice the bird strutting to entice a mate.

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“We try to time our season right after the peak breeding time,” Cass said. “It gives the birds an opportunity to breed and then some of the hens will start incubating their eggs and sitting on their nest.”

ztuggle@gannett.com

419-564-3508



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Giaunna Renee Lee Jackson, Youngstown, Ohio

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Giaunna Renee Lee Jackson, Youngstown, Ohio


YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (MyValleyTributes) – Giaunna Renee Lee Jackson, affectionately known as “Gigi” departed this life suddenly on Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Youngstown, Ohio at the tender age of 22.

Born January 15, 2004, to Thomas Hall, Sr. and the late Fannie M. Jackson, Giaunna was a smart, determined and resilient soul whose sassy charm and confident spirit made her believe she could conquer anything she set out to do.

Whether it was playing the trumpet, making the softball, basketball and volleyball team, finding a job or being on the honor roll at school she set, and most times conquered her goals. She was a hard worker and held several jobs with her most recent employment at Walmart and McDonald’s.

Giaunna’s educational journey began at Martin Luther King Elementary and included Campbell Memorial Middle School, Rayen Early College, and Campbell Memorial High School where she graduated in 2022. She continued her education at Youngstown State University where she majored in Criminal Justice.

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Giaunna enjoyed going out to dinner, shopping, binging on Netflix & Hulu, creating her own personal quotes, coloring books and listening to chill music. However, what she loved most was cooking for her brothers and grandmother, late night conversations with her brother Gerald, car rides with her brother Joshua, face timing her dad for cooking recipes, hanging with her cousins and with her best friends, Emily, Aiyana and Amy. Over the last several months, Giaunna opened her heart to let God in as she began to join her grandmother on what she called “grandma’s Jesus’ line” and as she joined her “Aunt Katrett” for Thursday devotions.

Giaunna was preceded in death by her mother, Fannie M. Jackson; maternal grandfather Abraham Jackson, maternal aunt Debbie Jackson Woodside, paternal grandparents; Thomas & Creola Hall and paternal uncle Bruce Harris.

Giaunna’s life will be treasured and remembered by her father & stepmother; Thomas (Monica) Hall, Sr. of Campbell, Ohio, brothers; Gerald and Joshua Jackson both of Youngstown, Ohio, Thomas Hall ,Jr. of Atlanta, Georgia and step-brother Darnell Heard of Columbus, Ohio, sister Devan Hall of Greenville, North Carolina, grandmother Elder Bessie Jackson, Aunts; Patricia Jackson McLendon of Bellevue, Michigan, Brenda (Rev Arthur) Jackson-Mackey, Jr. of Roosevelt, New York and Janet Jackson of Youngstown, Ohio, uncle; Barry Harris of Wellsville, Ohio and a host of cousins, godparents and loving friends. Rest in peace, dearest Giaunna. You will forever live on in our hearts.

Funeral services will be held on Friday, April 10, 2026, at New Beginnings Outreach Ministries, 2007 Shenley Ave. Youngstown, OH 4451. Visitation will be from 10:00-11:00 a.m. followed by a celebration of life at 11:00 am. Bishop Chris Crump, Eulogist. Internment: Tod Homestead Cemetery, 2200 Belmont Ave. Youngstown, Ohio.

Arrangements are being handled by the L.E. Black, Phillips & Holden Funeral Home.

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To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Giaunna Renee Lee “Gigi” Jackson, please visit our floral store.



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Ohio prisons, including Butler County, making millions to house immigrants for federal officials

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Ohio prisons, including Butler County, making millions to house immigrants for federal officials


Ohio prisons are making millions of dollars to house immigrants for federal authorities, including in Butler County, which has raked in more than $6 million.Records show six correctional facilities across Ohio are currently holding immigration detainees for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.Last year alone, those facilities brought in more than $13 million in federal payments. Butler County received a large share of that money, serving as a primary holding site for immigration arrests, including operations out of Columbus.Documents show ICE pays facilities a daily rate per detainee, along with transportation costs. Those rates can range from about $68 to $125 per person each day.In November, Butler County updated the agreement with ICE and is now paid $105 per detainee.Advocates say these agreements raise concerns about detaining people who are not facing criminal charges.But some Ohio sheriffs defend the practice, saying it helps support federal immigration enforcement and provides local resources.These agreements are expected to continue into this year, with Butler County remaining a key location for immigration detention in Ohio.

Ohio prisons are making millions of dollars to house immigrants for federal authorities, including in Butler County, which has raked in more than $6 million.

Records show six correctional facilities across Ohio are currently holding immigration detainees for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

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Last year alone, those facilities brought in more than $13 million in federal payments. Butler County received a large share of that money, serving as a primary holding site for immigration arrests, including operations out of Columbus.

Documents show ICE pays facilities a daily rate per detainee, along with transportation costs. Those rates can range from about $68 to $125 per person each day.

In November, Butler County updated the agreement with ICE and is now paid $105 per detainee.

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Advocates say these agreements raise concerns about detaining people who are not facing criminal charges.

But some Ohio sheriffs defend the practice, saying it helps support federal immigration enforcement and provides local resources.

These agreements are expected to continue into this year, with Butler County remaining a key location for immigration detention in Ohio.



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