An early look at Ohio State football’s 2022 schedule
All the rose petals have fallen on the 2021-202 Ohio State football schedule, and it did so by way of a 48-45 winning, finishing kick (literally), out in the “Granddaddy of Them All,” the 108th edition of the Rose Bowl It was an all-time 48-45 classic thriller that will be sitting on DVRs for awhile.
OSU finished the season 11-2 but fell a wee-bit short of its goal of beating Michigan, winning the Big Ten, and making another appearance in the College Football Playoff. There’s still a tie for the Big Ten East division hanging around the Buckeyes’ kneck, but that’s a mere consolation prize for what was put out there to begin the season.
Now, we turn the page to next season, because that’s what we do when following one of the best college football programs of all time. We’ll take a look at the 2022 schedule and provide an early primer for what’s at stake as we forecast each looking way out.
Saturday, Sept. 3, vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Nov 27, 2021; Stanford, California, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman stands on the sideline during the second quarter against the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford Stadium. Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
Location
Ohio Stadium (Columbus, OH)
Series Record
Ohio State leads series 4-2
Setting the way-too-early stage
It should be an early, pivotal matchup between two teams in contention for some pretty big things. Former Ohio State linebacker Marcus Freeman brings his Notre Dame team to Columbus and there has been some news on that front — if you will. It’ll be interesting.
Saturday, Sept. 10, vs. Arkansas State Red Wolves
Oct 7, 2021; Jonesboro, Arkansas, USA; Arkansas State Red Wolves quarterback Layne Hatcher (3) fakes the handoff to running back Lincoln Pare (22) at Centennial Bank Stadium. Credit: Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports
Location
Ohio Stadium (Columbus, OH)
Series Record
First-ever matchup
Setting the way-too-early stage
Ohio State welcomes in Arkansas State for the two programs’ first-ever matchup. The Red Wolves look to rebound from a 2-10 season that resulted in just one win in Sun Belt play. It should be a tune-up game for the Buckeyes.
Saturday, Sept. 17, vs. Toledo Rockets
Sep 23, 2017; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Toledo Rockets head coach Jason Candle looks on from the sideline in the game against the Miami Hurricanes during the second half at Hard Rock Stadium. Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Location
Ohio Stadium (Columbus, OH)
Series Record
Ohio State leads series 3-0
Setting the way-too-early stage
The Buckeyes have made a habit of rotating around the nonconference with in-state schools, and a MAC team often finds itself on the schedule. That’s the case again in 2022 when Toledo comes to the ‘Shoe in another game that shouldn’t be too much of a problem for Ohio State.
Saturday, Sept. 24, at Michigan State
Michigan State’s new head football coach Mel Tucker is greeted by Sparty on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2020, at the Capital Region International Airport in Lansing. Credit: USA TODAY Sports
Location
Spartan Stadium (East Lansing, MI)
Series Record
Ohio State leads series 35-15
Setting the way-too-early stage
It’s hard to really tell what kind of opponent Michigan State will be next year. Running back Kenneth Walker III is off to the NFL, and it’s hard to imagine what Mel Tucker did in year one with the transfer portal and JUCO players is sustainable year-over-year. Still, it appears a culture is being set there, and this might be a formidable challenge on the road for the first Big Ten contest of the season.
Saturday, Oct. 1, at Penn State
Credit: USA TODAY Sports
Location
Beaver Stadium (State College, PA)
Series Record
Ohio State leads series 22-14
Setting the way-too-early stage
You can almost bank on another night, whiteout game in Happy Valley when Ohio State travels to Penn State. Those are always tough, and will probably be again in 2022. Quarterback Sean Clifford has already announced a return for his sixth season for Penn State, and there’s enough talent on the roster to pose a sizable challenge in this one.
Saturday, Oct. 8, vs. Rutgers
Greg Schiano with Aron Cruickshank of Rutgers in the fourth quarter as Rutgers crushed Temple 61-14 in their season opener at SHI Stadium in Piscataway, NJ on September 4, 2021. Credit: USA TODAY Sports
Location
Ohio Stadium (Columbus, OH)
Series Record
Ohio State leads series 8-0
Setting the way-too-early stage
Things appear to be trending in the right direction for the Rutgers program under Greg Schiano, but the team hit a bit of a skid midway through 2021. Ohio State should have no problem in this one looking ahead, but can the Scarlet Knights make another step forward and make it more interesting than it would appear on the surface?
Saturday, Oct. 15, vs. Iowa
Nov 6, 2021; Evanston, Illinois, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes running back Tyler Goodson (15) and Iowa Hawkeyes quarterback Alex Padilla (8) celebrate after the touchdown in the first half against the Northwestern Wildcats at Ryan Field. Credit: Quinn Harris-USA TODAY Sports
Location
Ohio Stadium (Columbus, OH)
Series Record
Ohio State leads series 46-15
Setting the way-too-early stage
The Buckeyes still Iowa a dose of revenge from the beatdown and seemingly endless mileage it used up in trash talk from 2017. Unfortunately, there won’t be many players from OSU left to remember. The game is in Columbus, and that’ll make things easier to handle against a team that will be well-coached and sound defensively most likely again.
Saturday, Oct. 29, vs. Indiana
Indiana coach Tom Allen talks to Indiana players before running onto the field against Michigan State at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2020. Credit: USA TODAY Sports
Location
Ohio Stadium (Columbus, OH)
Series Record
Ohio State leads series 77-12-5
Setting the way-too-early stage
It sure looks like Indiana might have a down season in 2022, but we’ve seen Tom Allen rally his troops during years when we least expect it. Quarterback Michael Penix, Jr., is transferring, and there are just too many unknowns to expect the Hoosiers to put a scare into Ohio State at this point looking out.
Saturday, Nov. 5, at Northwestern
Sep 3, 2021; Evanston, Illinois, USA; Northwestern Wildcats head coach Pat Fitzgerald reacts after a play against the Michigan State Spartans during the fourth quarter at Ryan Field. Credit: Jon Durr-USA TODAY Sports
Location
Ryan Field (Evanston, IL)
Series Record
Ohio State leads series 64-14-1
Setting the way-too-early stage
If you know what to expect from Northwestern from year-to-year, then you are further ahead of the game than almost any expert out there. The Wildcats seem to rebound after some pretty poor years, and that’s exactly what we’re staring at in 2022. OSU will have a lot more talent than the Wildcats, but we’ll see if Pat Fitzgerald’s team has that little extra something we see from the program in certain years.
Saturday, Nov. 12, vs. Wisconsin
Wisconsin Badgers running back Braelon Allen (0) runs for a long first down in the third quarter against Nebraska Cornhuskers safety Myles Farmer (4) during their football game Saturday, November 20, 2021, at Camp Randall in Madison, Wis. Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK
Location
Ohio Stadium (Columbus, OH)
Series Record
Ohio State leads series 64-18-5
Setting the way-too-early stage
This could be a stiff challenge for Ohio State next season. Quarterback Graham Mertz might finally figure it all out, and of course, running back Braelon Allen is going to be a year better for Wisconsin. It’ll be a physical matchup as always, and thank goodness this game is in Columbus.
Saturday, Nov. 19, at Maryland
Nov 20, 2021; College Park, Maryland, USA; Maryland Terrapins defensive back Nick Cross (3) kicks Michigan Wolverines running back Donovan Edwards (7) out of bounds during the first half at Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium. Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Location
Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium (College Park, MD)
Series Record
Ohio State leads series 7-0
Setting the way-too-early stage
Maryland has had some decent talent over the last few years, but injuries always seem to expose the depth of the team once it gets into Big Ten play. This one could be a sneaky tough game on the road if the ‘Terps can stay healthy and put it all together. Still, it’s not one you would circle on the calendar as a problem, but it does come a week prior to a revenge game against TTUN.
Saturday, Nov. 26, vs. Michigan
Michigan running back Hassan Haskins (25) scores a touchdown against Ohio State during the first half at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021. Credit: USA TODAY Sports
Location
Ohio Stadium (Columbus, OH)
Series Record
Ohio State trails series 51-59-6
Setting the way-too-early stage
You know the drill here. Ohio State will be frothing at the mouth to knock Michigan’s block off after losing this past season and listening to Wolverine media members, players, and coaches shoot their mouths off about it. It’ll be another donnybrook, and a challenge again at the end of the year, but you can bet OSU won’t need any extra motivation in this one. Look for Michigan to take a little step back anyway in 2022.
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