The Ohio State football program boasts a legacy of facing formidable opponents across the country. With games against 91 teams that currently compete in the FBS—college football’s top tier—under its belt, certain major schools remain absent from the Buckeyes’ past matchups.
The Buckeyes are well-known for their competitive scheduling, typically opting to face off against peer powerhouses rather than smaller programs. Yet, some prominent Power Five schools have never graced the Ohio Stadium’s turf against the Buckeyes. Nonetheless, you’ll not find any Big Ten or Pac-12 teams on this list, given the Buckeyes’ comprehensive play within those conferences.
Wake Forest, arguably the ACC’s least successful football program, has eluded a matchup against the Buckeyes – a trend unlikely to change soon, given both teams’ differing trajectories, and their absence in shared Bowl games.
In contrast, the absence of a game against Georgia Tech comes as a surprise, considering the Buckeyes’ fanbase in Atlanta. When Georgia Tech’s performance was more formidable, a home-and-home series might have been more plausible.
On the Big 12 front, Kansas, often considered one of the country’s weaker programs, understandably has not seen a place on the Buckeyes’ schedule – a matchup that would likely yield a one-sided game.
Iowa State hasn’t made a trip to Ohio Stadium either, despite Ohio State’s regular games against their state sibling, Iowa. The Cyclones could well feature on the Buckeyes’ schedule in the future, either for home-and-home or neutral site matches.
Mississippi’s Ole Miss and Mississippi State also stand out as SEC teams that have never tangled with the Buckeyes on the gridiron. It seems unusual that the lone unplayed teams from this conference hail from the same state. Given the status and trajectory of all three programs, this anomaly may soon be rectified.
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What makes the absence of GA Tech as an opponent through the years is the fact that the Yellow Jackets have a long history of success in College Football, which includes 4 National Championships, and the fact College Football’s Top Awards are named after former GA Tech Coaches (John Heisman for College Football’s top player, Bobby Dodd for College Football’s Top Head Football Coach, & Frank Broyles for College Football’s Top Assistant Coach) as well as a former GA Tech AD (Homer Rice for for the Collage Athletic Director). GA Tech’s Stadium (Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field) is also the oldest continuously used on-campus site for college football in Major College Football.